Scholar Opportunities
Call for proposals Valente Center Seminar Series: Fall 2020 and beyond
Generally around this time of year, the Valente Center for Arts & Sciences calls for proposals to hosts short- or long-term visiting scholars on campus. Such scholars are typically distinguished leaders in their fields. Visiting scholars make class visits, give a public lecture, host a faculty workshop or work-in-progress seminar, and hold office hours for anyone on campus who would like to spend time with them. We ask visiting scholars to attend events offered on campus and interact with our students and faculty members.
While we are hopeful that such visits will return, for now we are calling for proposals of another format:
The Valente Center Seminar Series: A series of smaller scale seminar style meetings, led by visiting scholars and/or by Bentley faculty, in a hybrid format or through video only, on current issues, research, challenges, and opportunities in the arts, humanities & sciences or interdisciplinary fields of academic inquiry.
The seminar series seeks to maintain a sense of community on and off campus and will be open to the whole Bentley community and beyond: faculty, students, staff, alumni, parents, etc.
The format of each installment of the seminar depends on the proposals made. However, each installment of the seminar will be led by a moderator and should include ample time for interaction through question & answers sections, chats, polling etc.
The Valente Centers offers a $250 stipend to Bentley faculty to propose and host an installment of the seminar. The Valente Center can offer stipends for visiting scholars who’d conduct an installment of the seminar. The Valente Center will take care of any administrative and promotional tasks.
If you would like to propose a theme and/or a visiting scholar, we request support from at least your department. The Valente Center for Arts & Sciences looks for broad coalitions of sponsors and sets out to find co-sponsors.
For consideration, please submit a brief statement (approximately three pages, maximum) describing:
- Your vision for a specific installment of the Valente Center Seminar Series – Fall 2020, proposed topic, and potential for internal/external participating faculty and student involvement; and
- An overview of your research and qualifications, or
- An abbreviated CV highlighting relevant research, leadership, and student supervision experience.
As we seek to have a first Seminar Series in the Fall 2020 semester, we would prefer to accept proposals by Friday August 28, 2020.
For information about this call for proposals, to submit a proposal, or to talk about ideas for the Valente Center Seminar Series, please email jeijmberts@bentley.edu or call 781-891-2585.
Short-Term Visiting Scholars
The Valente Center hosts short-term visiting scholars (for about a week). These scholars are typically distinguished leaders in their fields. We ask them to do several class visits, give a public lecture, host a faculty workshop or work-in-progress seminar, and hold office hours for anyone on campus who would like to spend time with them. We usually bring one such scholar to campus each semester and try to rotate among departments so that we can enrich the intellectual life for everyone in the arts and sciences and beyond. If you would like to suggest a short-term visiting scholar, it’s easiest if you can get departmental support, show us that there is faculty and student interest in the scholar, and help us identify potential audiences for events.
Long-Term Visiting Scholars
The Valente Center regularly host longer-term visiting scholars, from several months to a full semester or academic year. These scholars usually have their own source of funding and include faculty members on sabbatical, postdoctoral fellows, emerging scholars at the dissertation phase, or faculty members from other institutions who are collaborating with Bentley faculty members. We provide an office space for them (if available), library privileges, sometimes a small housing allowance, and ask them to participate in the intellectual life of campus by offering a work-in-progress talk, and/or a workshop, a lecture, a seminar, etc. We also asked them to attend events offered on campus and interact with our students and faculty members.
For information about how you or someone you know can become a visiting scholar here at Bentley, please contact the Valente Center.