University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Entomology EGSA Development Fund

EGSA DEVELOPMENT FUND

Historical Perspective and Purpose of Fund
Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Wisconsin Foundation
Student Eligibility
Procedure for Call for Applications and the Awarding of Monies
Application Procedures
Guidelines for Judging EGSA Merit Award Applicant
Mechanisms for Changing the EGSA Development Fund Document

Kinney Merit Award Application Form in PDF format.

I. Historical Perspective and Purpose of Fund

The concept for the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) Development Fund was originated in 1992. A group of EGSA members felt that there was and would continue to be d need for financial support for student travel to professional meetings. The EGSA, in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin Foundation and in consultation with Department of Entomology, faculty and staff, determined that an endowment fund was the best way to provide financial support for student travel. The EGSA initiated a fund raising campaign among students, faculty alumni, and members of industry. As a result of these efforts, the EGSA deposited approximately $9,000 with the University of Wisconsin Foundation in 1994 and established the EGSA Development Fund. A portion of the annual interest from the fund is to be used each year for student "merit awards" as outlined in this document.

The EGSA Development Fund cannot solve all financial problems and financial inequities for entomology students. Rather, the fund is to provide a limited number of annual merit awards to deserving students. The competitive nature of these awards is meant to encourage students to strive for excellence in their work. The EGSA Development Fund was created for and should be used for the following purposes:

To honor highly meritorious students.
To provide financial support for individual students to attend professional meetings and workshops or to travel to research locations.
To provide limited financial support for student publication costs.

This document was drafted by the EGSA Finance Committee in 1994 and was ratified by student ballot on December 2, 1994. Members of the EGSA FHinance Committee were:

Karl Kinney
Tony Orth
Lynne Rieske
Sherry Roth
Sandra Statz
Kevin Voss
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dan Mahr

II. Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Wisconsin Foundation

THIS MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT is made by and between The Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA), hereinafter referred to as the Donor and the University of Wisconsin Foundation, a non-profit, non-stock Wisconsin Corporation. hereinafter referred to as the Foundation.

WHEREAS, the Donor wishes to institute a fund with the Foundation to be known as the Entomology Graduate Student Development Fund for the purpose of supporting graduate students studying insects; and

WHEREAS, the Donor wishes to initiate the Fund with a gift described as follows: $2,000; and

WHEREAS, the Foundation shall use so much of the Fund income as it shall from time to time determine, and at the discretion of the Foundation, part or all of any appreciation in Fund principal expressed herein;

NOW THEREFORE, the University of Wisconsin Foundation agrees to receive, hold, invest, reinvest, administer and distribute any and all monies received for the described Fund in accordance with the following terms and conditions:

Each year the Foundation will advise the Department Chair and the President of the EGSA of the total amounts of support available for distribution in support of the Fund's objectives.
The EGSA Development Fund will support deserving graduate students who have met the criteria established by the EGSA and are qualified to receive the award from this Fund. The Fund will provide resources for, but not limited to, travel expenses and/or publishing costs. If, at some unforeseen time in the future, the purpose of the Fund needs to be altered, the EGSA has the sole authority to make such changes.
All monies distributed from the Fund shall be described as having been made available by the EGSA Graduate Student Development Fund.
Additional contributions to the Fund by the Donor, or others, whether by gift, bequest, or devise, may be accepted at any time with the approval of the Foundation.
It is understood and agreed that should the purpose for which the Fund is instituted cease to exist, the Foundation will, in consultation with EGSA, determine an appropriate use of the Fund as close to the Donor's original intent as it can at that time devise.

In making this gift, it is the intent of the Donor to supplement those activities that would normally be construed as the province and responsibility of the State of Wisconsin and its agencies. The support distributed by the Foundation is intended to be incremental in nature in order to provide a margin of excellence in support of the goals and objectives detailed in this Memorandum of Agreement.

It is further agreed that this memorandum imposes only contractual obligations on the use of the Fund and shall not be deemed to impose any fiduciary duties or responsibilities upon the Foundation or its officers.

Executed July 15, 1994.
By Sandra Haase-Statz (EGSA President) and Andrew Wilcox (UW Foundation)

**Given that the Memorandum of Agreement with the UW Foundation is a contract, it is subject to change only under extraordinary circumstances.

III. Student Eligibility

All graduate students whose Major Advisor has an appointment in the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin are eligible for awards from the EGSA Development Fund. All undergraduate students whose declared major is entomology are eligible for awards from the EGSA Development Fund.

IV. Procedure for Call for Applications and the Awarding of Monies

Sometime before March 1, the Finance Committee will meet. If any members of the committee plan to apply for an EGSA Merit Award, alternates will be elected at the March or April EGSA meeting. Refer to the EGSA Charter, Article 5 for Finance Committee structure.
A call for applications will be made March 1 via e-mail and fliers in mailboxes. Students will be told where to pick up application materials and will have until the first Friday in April to return their completed application to the EGSA mailbox.
On or near April 1 the Finance Committee Chair will call Jennifer Kidron DeKrey (Foundation Accounting Manager; 263-0374) to find out how much money is available in the #12041165 account for the EGSA to distribute.
After the April deadline, copies of all applications plus evaluation sheets and evaluation criteria shall be distributed to each member of the Finance Committee. Each member will review and evaluate each application following the criteria set forth in section IV of this document prior to the meeting of the entire committee. Between April 15 and May 1 the committee shall meet. Their first task will be to resolve discrepancies between judges in point totals for items I, II, III-A E, and IV on the evaluation sheets. Each member will be asked to justify points given to each candidate for items III F & G. The Finance Committee Chair will total each applicant's points across all 4 judges, and applicants will be ranked according to total points. The committee will then decide how to allocate the available monies, considering that the minimum award, shall be 1/4 of the total amount available or $100, whichever is greater and the maximum award shall be 2/3 of the total amount available.
Announcement of the winners will be at the final EGSA meeting of the year (early May). Awardees should inform the Finance Committee Chair when they wish to receive their money. The Chair is responsible for keeping track of the monies due to each awardee.
When an awardee notifies the Finance Committee Chair of his/her desire to receive the money, the Chair will notify the President, who will then write a letter to John Feldt (Sr. Vice President of Finance; 263-4545) detailing the amount of money to be transferred into the departmental account #133-Y665-A07-3600-4, the date on which the money is needed from the #12041165 account at the Foundation, and where the check should be sent. This letter must be signed by the Department Chairman. Recognize that this transfer may require several working days.
The Finance Committee Chair will notify one of the faculty signatories (EGSA Faculty Advisor and/or Department Chair) of the award winners and will request authorization for disbursement from the #133-Y665-A07-3600-4 account. The faculty signatory will notify the departmental Fiscal Clerk in writing to release the stipulated amount of money at the appropriate time.
Awardees will fill out travel claims in order to receive their money. All monies must be used within a year of the award date. Graduating students must use their money within a year of the award date or before the end of the calendar year, whichever is less. If the awardee wishes to use the money for any purpose other than that which was specified on the application form, he/she must petition the Finance committee in writing to request a change.

V. Application Procedures

To apply for an EGSA Merit Award you must provide the following information for the EGSA Finance Committee:

A completed EGSA Merit Award Application Form (available in the Main Office or from the Finance Committee Chair).
2. A current curriculum vitae that includes, but is not limited to the following: publications (refereed and non-refereed), presentations (invited and submitted), grants and awards, and professional service (departmental and extra-departmental).

VI. Guidelines for Judging EGSA Merit Award Applicant

The following is a list of guidelines for members of the EGSA Finance Committee to assist in the evaluation of applicants for the Entomology Graduate Student Association Merit Awards. These guidelines, to be used in conjunction with the EGSA Merit Award Applicant Evaluation form, should enable the Finance Committee to equitably distribute available funds.

On the applicant evaluation form, categories I, II, IIIA through E, and IV should receive the same value from each judge for a given applicant.

Each judge is encouraged to devise her/his own point schedule to objectively evaluate the categories "Professional service" (IIIF) and "Distinction" (IIIG). Be prepared to justify the points you award in each of these subjective categories.

"Professional service" (IIIF): Consider the applicants' contributions both within the department and within any given professional society.

"Departmental" service could include serving as a student representative on standing departmental faculty committees, holding an office in EGSA, serving on the Linnaean team, etc.

"Extra-departmental" contributions could include moderating sessions at professional meetings serving as a student representative on committees within a professional society etc.

"Distinction" (IIIG): This is the most subjective portion of the evaluation, and it will be used to distinguish candidates of otherwise equal status and merit. When devising a point scheme for this category, evaluate the following:

the importance and status of the meeting, workshop, or research for which the EGSA Merit Award has been requested.
the quality of publications, whether the applicant is a junior versus senior author, the contribution to a given field, scientific originality and rigor, and the quality of the journal relative to the applicant's field.
the location at which the applicant has chosen to present his/her research results in the past, including the importance of the target audience with respect to the applicant's professional goals.
the number and size of grants, quality of the granting agency, and scientific rigor and originality. Grants are monies to support a given research project. Recognize that some grants are called "awards." Realize that not all graduate students are given the opportunity for grant writing but to do so requires extra initiative.
the quality of award(s) and the difficulty of the achievement(s). An award is an honor conferred upon an individual in recognition of a given scientific or academic achievement, and it mayor may not involve money.
the well-roundedness of the applicant, accomplishments relative to the length of time in the department, etc.

Once each member of the Finance Committee has reviewed each application packet, an Applicant Evaluation form should be completed by each judge. Again, items I, II, IIIA-E, and IV should receive the same value for each judge for a given applicant. Members will be asked to justify point assignments under "Professional service" and "Distinction." It is the responsibility of the Finance Committee Chair to see that each Finance Committee member has properly completed this aspect of judging. When completed, point totals will be used to rank applicants.

When distributing awards, the Finance Committee should consider the amount of money available the number of applicants, the amount requested by each applicant, and support available from other sources. In order to ensure that these awards are of greatest benefit to all, the minimum award will be 1/4 of the available funds or $100.00, whichever is greater, and the maximum award will be 2/3 of the available funds for any given year. Should the Finance Committee determine, that there are no deserving applicants, the money shall be reinvested in the EGSA Development Fund. Should an awardee wish to use the award for purposes other than those stated on the application, a written petition must be put forth to the Finance Committee to request the change. All decisions of the EGSA Finance Committee are final.

VII. Mechanisms for Changing the EGSA Development Fund Document

The procedures for changing the EGSA Development Fund Document can re found in the EGSA Charter under Article 9. [The article states that alteration of the EGSA Development Fund Document must occur by referendum at an officially called meeting. Passage of such a referendum requires a two-thirds majority of the people present].

As Finance Committee Chair, I am making a call for Kinney Merit Award applications to be awarded this Fall. The award will likely be distributed twice this year (this fall and in the spring, for which applications will again be called). In the past, the award has been $400 and will likely be approximately this amount for the fall.

The Kinney Merit award (formerly the EGSA Development Fund) was established in 1994 to provide merit awards to deserving students This award is competitive in nature and design to:

1) honor highly meritorious students
2) provide financial support for individual students to attend professional meetings and workshops, or to travel to research destinations

3) provide limited financial support for student publication costs

To apply for an EGSA Merit Award you must provide the following information for the EGSA Finance Committee (submit in the Lindroth Lab Mailbox by Friday October 30 at 430 PM):

A completed EGSA Merit Award Application Form.
-available in the Main Office or from the Finance Committee Chair (Tod Osier Room 839)
A current curriculum vitae that includes, but is not limited to the following publications (refereed and non-refereed), presentations (invited and submitted), grants and awards, and professional service (departmental and extra-departmental)

If you have questions, detailed information is included in the graduate student handbook (I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT APPLICANTS READ THIS) for additional information contact Tod Osier (Room 839, e-mail: osier).

Remember: submit in the Lindroth Lab Mailbox by Friday, October 30 at 4:30 p.m.