The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Davidson College encourages all students from the classes of 2008, 2009, and 2010 to apply for the Bank of America/Kemp Scholars Program for the 2007 calendar year.  For successful applicants, the program provides $2,000 in reimbursable expenses to support independent study, travel, and research, plus a stipend of $1,000.  

Scholars, with faculty supervisors, work independently on a research project of their own design.  In addition, they participate with the faculty in an interdisciplinary (non-credit) seminar which links their independent research projects.  In April, successful applicants and their Kemp advisors will meet several times as a group and each Kemp scholar will present the research proposal, outline summer plans, and lead a discussion to refine and inform the proposed work  Students are expected to use the summer months to travel and conduct the bulk of their research. Then, during the Fall 2007 semester, the group will reconvene for another set of presentations in which the students present the results of their research. 

Applicants and their advisors are strongly encouraged to identify potential outlets for the research, such as professional conferences which sponsor student presentations and/or posters, undergraduate journals and/or conferences, and other avenues.  Frequently, projects have had an international focus with the Kemp award sponsoring travel outside the United States.  Domestic projects, however, will also be considered.  The topics of the 2006 Kemp Scholars were:

• "A Comparative Study of Inclusion Criteria and Community Support in Antiretroviral Clinics in Zambia, Haiti, and South Africa"

• "Market Efficiency: A Comparison of Capital Markets in Chile and Argentina"

• "From Blogs to the Ballot Box: The Role of the Internet in the 2006 U.S. Senate Campaigns"

• "Troubled France: The 2005 Riots and Immigration Issues"

Examples of other Kemp topics are the study of museums as anthropological texts, dollarization in Argentina, gender issues in reproductive health, language and self, the 2002 U.S. Senate races, air traffic control privatization, treatment of AIDS in Africa, European Union trade policy, and contemporary storytelling in England.  The faculty advisor should be familiar with the chosen topic, and is expected to provide guidance in formulating and focusing the student's research questions and agenda. 

The selection committee consists of the Bank of America/Kemp Scholars Program Director (Vikram Kumar in Economics is the Acting Director), the Dean of Faculty, the director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, an alumni representative, and representatives from Bank of America. 

Applications are due by Tuesday, March 20, 2007 in Prof. Kumar's office, Chambers 3158.  Applicants will be notified of the committee's decisions shortly after the selection committee meets on Friday, March 30.  Please direct questions to Prof. Kumar at extension 2265 or vikumar@davidson.edu.  

Further guidelines are provided with the application form, which is available in Microsoft Word