Expectations of Participants
Full-Time Study and Tenure: NEH Summer Institute stipend recipients are expected to attend all meetings and devote full time to the activities for which the stipend was awarded during the announced period of the project. A stipend recipient may not accept a teaching assignment or undertake another major activity during the tenure of the award. Those who, for any reason, do not complete the full tenure of the project will receive a reduced stipend and may have to return some of the stipend that was advanced.
Dismissal from the Program: All NEH Summer Scholars are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. This requires a respectful attitude toward fellow participants, faculty, guest lecturers, and others in all settings (program sessions, field trips, etc.). Unprofessional behavior will not be tolerated and egregious or repeated violations of this principle will be considered grounds for dismissal from the program at the discretion of the Project Director. Reasons for dismissal may include, but are not limited to, repeated absences from scheduled activities and disruptive or threatening behavior. Consult the NEH Principles of Civility, here: https://www.neh.gov/grants/principles-civility
Evaluation: All NEH Summer Scholars are required to evaluate their experience and report on their activities and accomplishments under the award. Participants will report at the end of the Institute on online forms provided by the Endowment.
Academic Requirements
We ask for an enthusiastic intellectual engagement that includes: 1) doing the required readings, 2) participating in discussions, 3) asking questions of our interpreters and educators, 4) taking photos, possibly making sketches, and creating a journal of the educational tour that reflects on the readings and daily activities, and, finally, 5) completing curricular materials (a “Teaching”) that relates to the topics, sources, and methods we are highlighting in the Institute.
An outline for your new curricular materials (a.k.a. “Teaching”) must be submitted at the end of the institute, and the final lesson or unit must be shared by September 30, 2019. Similarly, the journal may be left with the Director (or with Dr. Lamb, if you wish to pay for and earn CEUs) as you depart from Bismarck, or it may be submitted by mail or electronically by the end of September. NEH Summer Scholars will be encouraged to collaborate with one another to create the new Teachings, such as an interdisciplinary project or one that is scaffolded for two different grade levels, but we will also happily accept individual projects.
Stretching Your Stipend
All NEH Summer Scholars chosen for this Institute will receive a stipend of $2,700, in two installments, most of it prior to the start of the institute, and a small portion at the end of our three weeks together. Many of you will receive a direct deposit, and some have requested a check be mailed to your home. While there is no guarantee, the stipend amount is intended to help you cover your travel expenses of getting to Billings and home from Bismarck and most hotel and food costs over the three-week period. This will take some creative budgeting!
Sample budget for the $2,700 stipend: $600 roundtrip/triangular airfare into Billings and out of Bismarck; and $100/day for 21 days to cover lodging and food (with an average of $40/night in a shared hotel room, often with breakfast included, and $60/day left for lunch, dinner, and incidentals). We will regularly have an economical picnic at lunchtime, stopping at supermarkets so that you can purchase foods and beverages for that purpose.
Airfares
A sample Los Angeles-Billings-Bismarck-Los Angeles flight as of January 2018 was $476, so that is a savings over the above; Dallas was $509 and San Francisco $516, also a savings; but, a New York flight was $694 and Miami $711.
Transportation on the Trail
NEH is paying for a coach to take us on our two-week educational journey along part of the Lewis and Clark Trail. It is our great desire to build collegiality during this time together. Furthermore, some presentations will be made on the bus as we approach some of our stops, and so we must require that participants take the bus with the group and NOT drive their own cars independently.
Participants should be prepared to get on and off the bus fairly regularly and for spurts of considerable walking when we do make stops. We will be walking around national and state parks, reservations, and museums. As this will be summer, we must expect the weather to be warm, and insects will be in the air. Thus, applicants to this program should be realistic about their own levels of stamina for making the journey (as opposed to choosing another program that might largely take place in a classroom). We will have water and occasional snacks available on the bus, plus a first-aid kit. But if you might require an Epi-Pen for insect bites, please bring your own.
Lodging
We have an agreement to rent single dorm rooms at Montana State University in Billings, where we will spend the first five nights, for the economical price of $34/night for a single room.
By the end of our five days in Billings, if not before, we hope most of you will have settled on a roommate for sharing hotel rooms for the remainder of the Institute. If you prefer a room for yourself, you can approximately double the following rates. But we will need to know in April if you are not opting to share a hotel room so that we may adjust the reservations accordingly.
We have reserved primarily double (two-bedded) rooms in motels along the way, imagine that most of you will wish to share a motel room in order to save on costs. All prices but one are firm quotes; as the Hardin, MT, quote becomes available, the information will be inserted below.
- The Homestead Inn and Suites in Hardin, MT, has given us a firm quote of $48.15/night/person in a shared room with two queen beds. All meals will have to be found in the surrounding community, and there will be daily stops at supermarkets. Here are the TripAdvisor recommendations for places to eat. Very easily walkable places are Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, Subway, and McDonalds. This reservation and rate are to be confirmed in January 2019.
- The Best Western Golden Prairie Inn and Suites in Sidney, MT, will cost $39/night/person for a two-bedded, shared double with free Wifi and breakfast. Reservation for 16 rooms and price confirmed by Bryce Baker, Sept. 29, 2018.
- The Comfort Inn and Suites in Watford City, ND will cost $54.21/night/person in a shared double room, but this will include free Wifi, free breakfast, some light refreshments all day, and free cookies after 3 PM. We might arrive in time on Thursday, July 11th, in order to have free soup, but the other evenings we will have to find our own dinner. The reserved rooms and price were confirmed by Brenda Juker on October 24, 2018.
- The Coal Country Inn in Stanton, ND, will cost $35 + tax/night/person in a two-bedded, shared double (which will include free Wifi but not a free breakfast). Breakfast options include going to the motel’s restaurant or walking to a grocery store. Lodging reservation and price were confirmed by Rebecca Bailey on August 24, 2018.
- America’s Best Value Inn, Bismarck, ND, will cost about $35 + tax/night/person for a two-bedded, shared double with free Wifi and breakfast. Lodging reservation and price were confirmed by Dean Kerzman on August 24, 2018.
Income Taxes
Stipends related to seminars and institutes are considered taxable income. Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the seminar or institute location, books, equipment and other research expenses, and living expenses for the tenure period of the seminar or institute. These expenses may be deductible, and so proper records and receipts should be kept by the participant. NEH does not give tax advice, and we suggest that you consult a tax advisor if you have any tax questions. There are a number of IRS publications that might be useful, including publication number 970, “Tax Benefits for Education,” which is available at IRS district offices or through the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov
This institute is being funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web resource do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.”