We are excited to announce the opportunity to become the next campus host of Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life (IA) in 2027. Following founding years at the University of Michigan, a ten-year term at Syracuse University, and what will soon be ten years at the University of California, Davis, IA has begun the search for a new campus home.
This transition is part of an intentional cycle for higher education institutions to host IA for five-year once renewable terms. An ideal host will be in a strong position to strengthen and leverage IA’s existing values, history, collaborations, and programs, while infusing new energy, creativity, and mission-aligned interests to the national network.
Please share this news and exciting opportunity in your networks!
Follow these step-by-step instructions to begin the process.
The Letter of Interest is due on January 15, 2025.
If you have any questions, please:
• Email: connect@imaginingamerica.org and IA Board Chair Paul Schadewald pschadew@gmail.com
Why Host IA?
Mary Croughan
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, University of California, Davis
Hosting IA is an exciting opportunity to become a national hub in connecting and convening higher education institutions committed to public and engaged scholarship, and to activating the mission, vision, and values of IA. As an organization uniquely positioned to bring people together across common institutional and social divides, there is no more urgent time than now to harness the power of public scholarship and cultural organizing towards campus and societal change.
IA’s Work and Strategic Directions
Led by a distinguished National Advisory Board and UC Davis staff, IA approaches its 25th anniversary as a vibrant and growing national consortium of over 70 higher education institutional members and longstanding cultural partners. Imagining America’s National Gathering is a well-attended convening, serving a diverse range of students, faculty, administrators, and community leaders committed to the power of art, design, and public humanities in transformative change.
Pam Korza
Former Co-Director, Animating Democracy, a Program of Americans for the Arts
Milmon F. Harrison
Academic Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Undergraduate Education and Associate Professor of African American and African Studies, UC Davis.
IA’s virtual programs engage hundreds of constituents on issues emergent from our diverse network. Research initiatives and collaboratives co-create new knowledge on pressing public issues, and public scholarship resources and interactive tools serve and engage membership. The re-launched Foreseeable Futures publication shares the wisdom of community-based culture keepers and thinkers. The Undergraduate Joy of Giving Something (JGS) fellows and Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) graduate student fellows create communities to support the next generation of public artists, designers, and scholars. Learn more about IA’s work and strategic directions here.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO BEGIN THE PROCESS
You must first register your interest and then submit a Letter of Interest (due Jan 15, 2025), before being invited to submit a full proposal. See below for more details.
The portal for full proposals will open in March 2025, and completed proposals will be due January 2026.
IA encourages the formation of campus teams to explore possibilities and invites prospective hosts to reach out to IA National Advisory Board (NAB) Chair, Transitions Committee Members, and Faculty Director for additional information and consultations.
Register Your Interest
Please click here to register your interest in becoming the next host of Imagining America.
Registering your interest does not obligate you to submit a Letter of Interest (due Jan 15, 2025) or full proposal (due Jan 2026), but is required in order to be considered.
Those who register interest will receive information about qualifications for hosting Imagining America and important deadlines and opportunities.
Instructions for Submitting Letters of Interest
The Letter of Interest (LOI) should respond to the questions below in a narrative of three to five single-spaced pages (12 point font). Please submit your LOI as a PDF by January 15, 2025, using the google form linked at the bottom of this section.
Please email connect@imaginingamerica.org and IA Board Chair Paul Schadewald pschadew@gmail.com if you have any questions.
1. Why are you interested in your institution becoming the next host of Imagining America?
2. What are the most critical opportunities and challenges facing IA today?
3. How will your institution contribute to IA’s development as a national consortium?
4. How does the work on your campus align with the Mission, Vision, Values, and Strategic Directions of IA?
5. How will hosting IA enrich work on your campus? Please describe the role of public scholarship, cultural organizing, and campus change on behalf of public scholarship at your institution.
6. Please list 3-7 people on your planning team, including a paragraph summarizing each individual’s background and roles on your proposal team. Please close the letter with the name/s and signatures of 1-2 individuals designated as the project leads.
7. Beyond the campus team above, are there other stakeholders, institutions, or partners who will be involved in your proposal process? If so, please briefly describe.
8. Please describe current support from campus leadership or your plans for cultivating leadership support for the proposal? Note: A letter of support from a Provost or President will be required on the full proposal.
9. Please describe existing or anticipated resources (financial, institutional, and other) that may contribute to hosting IA.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Attend an Information Session
IA leadership hosted two Host Transition Information Sessions (one in June 2024, the second in October 2024), where they shared additional information and answered questions about the transition process. Video recording coming shortly!
IA New Host Campus Transition Timeline
Spring / Summer 2024
June 2024: Announcement of IA transition to a new host institution (July 2027) and call for Letters of Interest (LOI) to become the next host of IA.
July 16, 2024: Online information session on host campus transition. Register here to attend.
Fall 2024
October 1, 2024: Online information session on host campus transition. Register here to attend.
Winter / Spring 2025
January 15, 2025: Submit LOI (These will be evaluated by IA National Advisory Board Transition Committee).
March 2025: IA invites qualified campus teams who submitted an LOI to submit a full proposal for consideration as the next host of IA.
Summer / Fall 2025
Institutions invited to submit full proposals are encouraged to consult with the IA Transitions Committee as they prepare proposals.
October 2025: IA National Gathering and 25th Anniversary; IA leadership will be available to meet with campus teams preparing a full proposal.
Winter / Spring 2026
January 15, 2026: Full proposals for host institutions due.
IA Transitions Committee reviews and evaluates proposals.
Transitions Committee conducts virtual or in-person site visits with finalist applicants.
New host institution chosen and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed.
Summer 2026 through Summer 2027
July 2026: New host institution announced.
IA staff and National Advisory Board work with the new host institution to facilitate transition processes.
New host and IA National Advisory Board launch national search for new Faculty Director.
Once hired, new IA Faculty Director and new host institution hire or retain IA staff.
June 30, 2027: Imagining America’s final day at University of California, Davis.
July 1, 2027: Imagining America’s first day at a new host institution.
IA National Advisory Board, and / or transitioning staff, assist in the on-boarding phase of the new host campus, and continue to support the new institution for a five year renewable term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is leading the transition process?
The IA National Advisory Board (NAB) Transition Committee, chaired by Paul Schadewald, is leading the process to find the next host campus for IA.
What is the timeline for the host campus transition?
Please see the Imagining America Host Campus Transition Timeline tab above. Key dates include:
January 15, 2025 Letters of Interest (LOI) Due
January 15, 2026 Full Proposals Due
Spring-Summer 2026 New Host Announcement
July 1, 2027 First Day of New IA Host
What is the expected term for hosting Imagining America?
Host institutions sign a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Imagining America’s National Advisory Board, renewable once if agreed upon by both parties. During the third year of the first term, a team composed of representatives from the host institution and from the National Advisory Board assess IA’s work and the hosting arrangement.
Is IA an incorporated organization?
No, IA is a national network, fiscally sponsored by an academic host institution. IA staff are employees of the host institution and report to the host campus Office of the Provost and IA’s National Advisory Board. Imagining America is integrated into the fiscal and human resource systems of the host institution.
Who will support the transition of IA to the new host campus?
The IA National Advisory Board will fully support the transition process and will continue to support the host throughout the contracted term. The current IA staff will support the new host in planning for the transition of all IA systems and programs in the year between the selection of the new host in spring 2026 and the new host start date of July 1, 2027.
Do IA staff travel to the new host campus or are new staff hired?
During the 2026-2027 transition year, the National Advisory Board and new host campus will launch a national search for a Faculty Director, a position that requires a tenured faculty line in an academic unit at the host campus. The remaining staff members may be re-hired or replaced at the discretion of the new host campus and new Faculty Director.
What kinds of resources are required to host IA?
A combination of resources is needed to host Imagining America including annual contributions to Imagining America’s core operating budget, to be determined in conversation with finalist applicants. Additional support includes staff time and / or resources in finance, human resources, information technology, facilities, and other critical institutional infrastructures. IA generates revenue from membership dues, event registration fees, and grants and awards from institutional and individual donors. Additional budget information will be shared with applicants invited to submit full proposals.
What kinds of institutions will be considered as the next host of IA?
Any accredited higher education institution may apply to become the next host of IA. The new host does not need to be a current member of IA. Academic institutions may select to partner with non-higher education organizations in collaborative hosting arrangements but the campus partner must submit the Letter of Interest and proposal as the main host.
Who should be involved in submitting a Letter of Interest?
Imagining America is hosted by an academic institution, not a department, unit, or program so the Letter of Interest should represent a diversity of work at your campus that best reflects the vision, mission, and values of Imagining America. Applicant teams might include campus leadership, engaged faculty and staff, directors of centers and creative programs, and regional and national stakeholders and partners.
What kind of commitment by campus leadership is necessary for the Letter of Interest (LOI) and the full proposal?
The LOI should indicate the involvement of campus leadership in the planning process. If campus leadership is not already involved, it should describe a process of engaging campus leadership leading up to the full proposal submission. The LOI is signed by the main facilitators of the proposal process. The full proposal must include the signature of the host institution’s Provost and President.
Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
