GRANT: Diversity in Sport Dissertation

DIVERSITY IN SPORT DISSERTATION GRANT

The Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University is pleased to announce the Diversity in Sport Dissertation Grant. This is a $750 award presented to a student who will complete a doctoral dissertation by August 15, 2008. Any doctoral student conducting research in the area of diversity in sport and physical activity is eligible for the grant.

Overview.
Diversity represents one of the most important issues facing persons in sport today. From a managerial standpoint, changing demographics, equal employment opportunity laws, and social pressures have all contributed to the increased heterogeneity of sport organization employees. The increased diversity can have both positive and negative effects for individual, groups, and the organization as a whole. As such, it is imperative for managers to (a) understand how diversity influences the workplace, (b) factors that can facilitate the positive effects of diversity, and (c) strategies that can be employed to ameliorate the potential negative effects of such differences.

From a social standpoint, sport has historically been a context where persons with certain characteristics—that is, White, able-bodied, heterosexual, Protestant men—have been privileged relative to those persons who do hold those characteristics. This form of privilege is largely still in place today. Social scientists are charged, therefore, with understanding (a) the experiences of members of under-represented groups, (b) how their experiences in sport influence their subsequent attitudes and behaviors, and (c) what policies can be implemented to ensure that sport is a setting open to all persons, irrespective of their demographic characteristics, values, or beliefs.

Guidelines.
Students should complete the attached information sheet, complete a proposal for funding, and provide a detailed budget. Each proposal should be no more than three pages of text (excluding references, tables, figures, and/or appendices). The proposal should include (a) an introduction, (b) an overview of the theoretical framework adopted for the study, (c) the proposed methods, (d) the data analytic procedures, (e) the expected results, and (f) the implications of the research for the study of diversity in sport. On a separate page from the written proposal, students should provide a detailed budget of how they plan to use the funds. Proposals should also include a letter of support from the student’s advisor. Preference will be given to those studies focusing on the issues outlined in the Overview section.

Students should submit four copies of the grant proposal to:

George B. Cunningham, PhD
Laboratory for Diversity in Sport
Department of Health and Kinesiology
Texas A&M University
4243 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-4243

Note that Texas A&M University System employees are not eligible for the award.