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Call For Proposals: 2026 Interdisciplinary Investigations Community-Engaged Research & Creative Activities Series
Submit by 5 p.m., October 31, 2025
The School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development (ISPD), the Center for Community Engagement (CCE), and the Evelyn Gandy Center for Women and Leadership announce a call for proposals for the 2026 Interdisciplinary Investigations Community-Engaged Research & Creative Activities Series. The aim of this series is to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration to address community-identified needs, enhance community capacity to solve pressing challenges, and to prepare the next generation of engaged scholars. In collaboration with the Center for Women and Leadership, one award will be earmarked for projects related to gender studies.
A successful proposal will involve two to three faculty members from multiple disciplines, one or more undergraduate student research/creative assistants and an identified community partner. Collaboration across schools, colleges and campuses is encouraged.
- Potential areas of study important to our region include but are not limited to homelessness, mental health, racial equity, economic mobility, early childhood and maternal outcomes, juvenile delinquency, public health, career readiness, environmental health, and domestic violence. If you are interested in applying but do not have a community partner identified or would like to brainstorm potential topics, please contact Christy Kayser at christy.kayserFREEMississippi or Candice Salyers at Candice.SalyersFREEMississippi.
- Proposed research projects should adhere to the principles of community-based research with faculty and community members working collaboratively to conduct research for 鈥渢he purpose of solving a pressing community problem or effecting social change鈥� (Community-Based Research and Higher Education, Strand et al., 2004, p.3). The collaboration should incorporate best practices and principles of campus-community partnerships (such as those outlined in CCPH鈥檚 ).
Undergraduate research/creative assistants: if faculty do not have undergraduate students identified, they may contact Christy%20Kayser for a list of potential undergraduate students interested in community engaged research. Student research/creative assistants may earn internship or special project course credit for their participation
2026 Series Timeline
- Fall 2025: Faculty submit proposals by October 31, 2025. ISPD will notify selected projects by December 1, 2025.
- Spring 2026: Develop strategic partnerships, research questions, and research plans.
- Summer/Fall 2026: Research and analysis.
- Spring 2027: Submit or present research at conferences. Students present research projects at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Travel money is available for both faculty and students.
Funding
- A budget of $2,000 is available to support costs associated with research or creative activities such as travel to research sites, data collection, and data analysis. The money may also be used as a stipend if that is preferred.
- Additional travel funds of up to $2,000 per research group are available for conference presentations.
Proposals should include an overview of the project including:
- A clear statement of the community issue to be studied, how it is relevant to the Mississippi or Pine Belt region, and how the study鈥檚 findings may benefit community stakeholders.
- A list of all faculty involved with their school/program affiliations. Contact person for project should be identified.
- A brief description of each faculty member鈥檚 participation/contribution to the research or creative activities of the initiative.
- A letter of support from a community stakeholder indicating their interest in the partnership and how the research or creative project could meet their needs.
- A preliminary budget, including an indication of potential sources of additional funding if applicable.
- A brief email/memo of support from the School Director of each Interdisciplinary Fellow indicating support for their participation.
| Submit proposals in PDF format via email to Ann%20Marie%20Kinnell, Director, ISPD, by 5 p.m., October 31, 2025. Funded proposals will be notified by December 1, 2025. Please contact Dr. Kinnell with any questions about the proposal guidelines or submission process. |
Past Interdisciplinary Investigations Series Projects:
The current iteration of Interdisciplinary Investigations focuses on community engaged research. More information about the inaugural 2022-2024 series can be found here: New Interdisciplinary Projects Planned for Community-Engaged Research Initiative
The 2021-2022 series, Medical Encounters, was organized by four faculty members:
- Dr. Emily Stanback, Associate Professor of English, School of Humanities
- Dr. Kathryn Anthony, Associate Professor of Communications, School of Communications
- Dr. Ian Dunkle, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, School of Humanities
- Dr. Michelle McLeese, Assistant Teaching Professor of Sociology, School of Social Science and Global Studies
Information about their two events and their course can be found at their website:
Proposal: Topics included:
(1) history of uses, including religious, medical, and recreational uses;
(2) sources of drugs, such as opium poppy plants in this case;
(3) the mechanisms of action, or pharmacology, of drugs in reducing pain;
(4) the legal and illegal business of producing, marketing, and selling drugs;
(5) intervention and the treatment of addictions;
(6) the public policy of dealing with drugs, drug users, and drug dealers.
Coordinators: Mac Alford, Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences; Ragan Downey, Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security; Michael Madson, Psychology; and Julie Pigza, Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Spring 2020 course: IDS 350-H002 (8505), TTh 1:00p.m. - 2:15p.m.
Topic: Opioids: From Painkilling to Pain Causing, A Multidisciplinary Analysis of
the Opioid Epidemic.
Instructors: Mac Alford (Biology), Michael Madson (Psychology), Ragan Downey (CJ/Forensic
Science)
This class considered opioids and the opioid addiction crisis from the angles of history, medicinal plants, chemistry/pharmacology, pain treatment, addiction interventions and treatments, medical professional training, policies and practice in criminal justice, and societal impact. Students developed a multifaceted view of, and be better prepared to help address, this important and timely public health epidemic.
Proposal: This project investigated civil rights and social justice issues in Mississippi jails through an examination of the conditions within jails and the opportunities for reform. The series included a documentary being made by undergraduate students as well as through panels featuring civil rights leaders, law enforcement officials, reporters, and Southern Miss faculty members.
Coordinators: Douglas Bristol, Humanities; Vincenzo Mistretta, Communication; Team: Deanne Stephens, Humanities; Chris Campbell, Communication; Cheryl Jenkins, Communication/Black Studies; Wes Johnson, Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security; Alan Thompson, Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security; and Michael Wigginton, Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security
Proposal: This project investigated aspects of Native American life and ways in the Gulf South from ancient to contemporary times, using a variety of research methods and sources. Faculty and students examined ethnographic and qualitative data collection as well as perspectives on indigenous life collected from primary colonial sources (Spanish, French, and English)
Coordinators: Tammy Greer, Psychology; Joshua Haynes, Humanities; Jeanne Gillespie, Social Science
and Global Studies; Team: Bridget Hayden, Social Science and Global Studies; Jennifer
Lemacks, Kinesiology and Nutrition; Deanne Stephens, Humanities
Spring 2020 course: IDS 350-H001 (8163), MW 1:00p-2:15p, HYBRID
Topic: In the Footsteps of the Ancestors: Native American Travel, Trade, and Natural
Resource Use in the Gulf South
Instructors: Jeanne Gillespie (World Languages), Tammy Greer (Psychology), Josh Haynes
(History)
Come learn about our American Indian heritage along the Gulf Coast. Did you know Pascagoula, MS has been a city known for boatbuilding for more than 5000 years? Did you know tamales got to Mississippi before Europeans did? Did you know that some of the first contacts between Europeans and American Indian communities occurred in our region and that there are archives filled with documents describing American Indian ways of life and cultures in Spanish, French and English? If you are interested in exploring more about these questions and the lives of our American Indian neighbors, take IDS 350.