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Buttel Awards for Innovative and Creative Programming*
2008 Call for Proposals

The Rural Sociological Society has established a restricted fund in the RSS Endowment to honor Frederick H. Buttel and his contributions to rural sociology. Two hallmarks of Fred's work were its critical orientation and its commitment to social justice outcomes in the field of sociology of agriculture and agro-food systems, the sociology of agricultural science and technology, and environmental sociology. He was particularly supportive of RSS Research and Interest Groups' (RIGS) efforts to facilitate projects and opportunities for scholarly discourse within the society and encouraged support for new discourse and emerging issues with attention to problems of structured inequality and power in agriculture and rural society.

Applications for the Buttel Awards for Innovative and Creative Programming for use during the RSS annual meetings are to be submitted to the RSS Endowment Committee. Applications are accepted from all Research and Interest groups (RIGs). Please note that initial awards may be quite modest until the Fred Buttel Research Group Enrichment Fund is fully endowed. The total amount available for 2008 is six percent of the fund value or approximately $1,000. The Endowment Committee may present as many as two awards in 2008 in the average amount of $500.00 each.

Proposals must be received by the Endowment Committee by November 1. 2007.

Application process:

  • A RIG(s) proposal may be developed by an individual or group
  • The proposal is sent to the appropriate RIG Chair(s) well in advance of the November 1st deadline.
  • Proposals are limited to 3-5 double-spaced pages including budget and budget justification. Please limit supportive documentation to 4-6 pages.
  • The RIG Chair(s) reviews the proposal and writes a letter of support
    • In the case of a joint RIG proposal each chair should write a letter of support
    • Once all letters are complete the proposal should be sent to the Endowment Committee
  • The letter(s) of support, the proposal and all supporting documents (i.e., speaker biography or agency background) are sent to the Endowment Committee Chair by 5:00PM CST on November 1st, to CB-Struthers@wiu.edu.
  • Applications must be submitted electronically and in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format using a 12-point font and 1" margins.

Applications should include:

  • A description of the project or activity.
  • A discussion of how the project or activity informs, supports, or furthers the cause of rural sociology and enriches the RSS annual meeting program by incorporating emerging issues and prospective new RSS members into the program.
  • An itemized budget and budget justification statement including other sources of funds to be used.
  • The names and contact information of the persons coordinating the project/activity and a clearly identified primary contact person.
  • A letter of support from the RIG chair or chairs if the program or activity is a joint RIG proposal.
  • Other documentation as appropriate.

Applications will be evaluated on the following:

  • Degree that the activity enriches the RSS annual meeting or furthers the cause of rural sociology.
  • The degree the applicant incorporates emerging issues within agriculture and/or rural society.
  • Degree of collaboration with external groups to broaden participation in the society.
  • Timeliness, relevance, impact, and/or sustainability of programming or activity.
  • Broad interest to RSS members (The case could also be made for some specialized activity that appeals to a more limited number of RSS members as long as it is consistent with the larger intent of the Frederick Buttel Fund).

A summary report of the program or activity will be submitted to the Endowment Committee and shared with RSS members via The Rural Sociologist.

* These awards are a proportion of the Fred Buttel Research Group Enrichment Fund established in 2004.