| Dear Colleagues,
The current COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact our scholarly community in multiple ways. We are particularly aware of and concerned about the forms of financial hardship that are hitting members who are underemployed and unemployed. To support members whose livelihood has been significantly impacted, or outright lost, due to the impacts of the pandemic, the Society for Linguistic Anthropology is inviting applications for the Society for Linguistic Anthropology (SLA) Hardship Grant and Membership Waiver. The SLA Hardship Grant and Membership Waiver program will assist financially vulnerable SLA members whose livelihood has been majorly impacted by the pandemic (e.g., by layoffs, loss of employment opportunity, significant lost income, lost or reduced graduate funding due to lost teaching assistantships, research funding, or other livelihood support). In addition, for members who receive a hardship grant and whose AAA and SLA membership is set to expire before December 31, 2020, the SLA will waive its section membership fee as well as pay for the AAA membership fee for that year.
To qualify, applicants must:
- be either an SLA graduate student member or a professional member (including those who are practicing/applied, instructors, lecturers, post-docs, and tenure-track faculty) of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology,
- have suffered a loss of livelihood due to recent pandemic, and
- have a current salary (as of the date of application) below $20,000/year (AAA tier 2) or equivalent monthly salary ($1667/month).
The amount of the grant will vary based on member’s status: professional members will receive grants of $1,000 and graduate student members will receive grants of $500. (As per AAA definitions, student status holds up to 12 months after their graduation. After this they are considered “professional” members.)
Applications are due by July 15, 2020, and can be submitted here. Funds will be dispersed to qualifying applicants shortly thereafter. A second round of applications will be announced in August and due September 1, pending availability of funds. Members who received grants in the first round will still be eligible in the second round, though preference will be given to members who did not receive a hardship grant in the first round. Should you have any questions, please contact Constantine V. Nakassis.
We would also like announce two ways that members who are looking to help our colleagues through this SLA endeavor—and expand our ability to do so in the future—can do so. First, there is now a membership option called “Sustaining dues,” which is set at $80. This is an optional category of membership for members who would like to provide the SLA with support above the categories they would otherwise register under (as of currently: $40, Professional membership; $38 Retired membership; $0 Student membership). The extra funds provided by such Sustaining dues in this fiscal year will be devoted to offsetting and, if possible, expanding hardship grants. Second, for those who have already registered, or would like to contribute more (or less) than the additional $40 provided through Sustaining dues, we have set up a fund through which gift contributions can be made to the SLA to help fund, and if possible expand, the SLA’s hardship grants. If you’re in a position to donate, you may do so here. Should you have any questions, please contact Constantine V. Nakassis.
We know that these are hard and trying times for all of us, and appreciate all your support in assisting our more vulnerable members of the SLA community!
We hope that this support, even though small, will help our SLA community move through these uncertain, unprecedented times.
Sincerely,
Constantine V. Nakassis
Secretary-Treasurer, Society for Linguistic Anthropology |