CFP Jamie & Thelma Guilbeau Research Awards 2026-2027

The Department of History, Geography, & Philosophy at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is pleased to request proposals for two Jamie & Thelma Guilbeau Research Awards. One, a fellowship, is open only to current employees, staff, or graduate students of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The other, a grant, is open only to researchers who are not affiliated with UL Lafayette. The full requests for proposals are noted below.

The Jamie & Thelma Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Fellowship

To promote the use of research collections housed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the Department of History, Geography, and Philosophy and the Guilbeau Center for Public History are pleased to announce the Jamie and Thelma Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Fellowship in the amount of $500 for a researcher who is a current faculty member, staff member, or graduate student at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Proposals should indicate promise of publication or reaching a broad audience in some other form and require work in the collections of the University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collections, the Ernest J. Gaines Center, the Cajun and Creole Music Collection, the Center for Louisiana Studies, or in other UL Lafayette collections. Particular consideration will be given to applications that speak broadly to Louisiana and its histories, heritages, cultures, and identities.

To be considered, please send a cover letter, a current CV of no more than three pages, a 500-700-word prospectus describing the research project and identifying the collections to be used, and, if a graduate student, a letter of support from a thesis or dissertation advisor. Before the conclusion of the fellowship period, the recipient must make a public presentation of his/her work that has been informed by the research, provide a copy of the presentation for deposit at the University, and produce a brief written report describing the results. Should the research lead to other scholarly presentation or publication, the UL Lafayette depository requests a copy, and the University asks that the Jamie Guilbeau and Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Fellowship be acknowledged.

The deadline for applications is May 1, 2026. The winner of the fellowship will be announced May 15, 2026. Research may be conducted any time between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027.

The Jamie & Thelma Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Grant

To promote the use of research collections housed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the Department of History, Geography, and Philosophy and the Guilbeau Center for Public History are pleased to announce the Jamie and Thelma Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Grant in the amount of $2,000 for a researcher who is NOT A faculty member, staff member, or student at UL Lafayette. Proposals should indicate promise of publication or reaching a broad audience in some other form and require work in the collections of the University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collections, the Ernest J. Gaines Center, the Cajun and Creole Music Collection, the Center for Louisiana Studies, or in other UL Lafayette collections. The grant is intended primarily to defray travel expenses; therefore preference will be given to researchers beyond commuting distance of UL Lafayette. Particular consideration will be given to applications that speak broadly to Louisiana and its histories, heritages, cultures, and identities.

Faculty, graduate students, independent scholars, and artists are encouraged to apply. To be considered, please send a cover letter, a current CV of no more than three pages, a 500-750-word prospectus describing the research project and identifying the collections to be used, and, if a graduate student, a letter of support from a thesis or dissertation advisor. By accepting the award, the recipient agrees to make a public presentation of their work that has been informed by the research, provide a copy of the presentation for deposit at the University, and produce a brief written report describing the results. Should the research lead to scholarly presentation or publication, the UL Lafayette depository requests a copy, and the Jamie and Thelma Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Grant be acknowledged.

The deadline for applications is May 1, 2026. The winner of the grant will be announced May 15, 2026. Research may be conducted any time between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027.

Application materials for both the fellowship and the grant should be sent to: 

Michael S. Martin, Chair
Jamie and Thelma Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Awards Committee
michael.martin@louisiana.edu