Neila and Candadai Seshachari Faculty Convention Travel Grant

It is with great pleasure that we name one of our Association's annual grants The Neila and Candadai Seshachari Faculty Convention Travel Grant. Neila, a Professor of English, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday, 10 March 2002. She was only 67. Candadai (known to his many friends as "Sesh") retired as a Professor of English on 11 April 2000. The two emigrated from India in 1960, received their PhDs from the University of Utah, and became valued faculty members at Weber State University, Neila for 29 years; Sesh, for 31 years. In the early 1970s, both became avid members and supporters of the RMMLA, presenting papers, chairing sessions, leading panel discussions, and increasing the active scholarly involvement of their colleagues at the annual conferences. Sesh presented his first paper, "The Question of Violence in Thoreau," at the 1972 conference in Tucson; and Neila presented her first paper, "A Colloquium on the Feminine," at the 1978 Phoenix conference.

Neila was a Delegate to the Executive Board from 1991 to 1993, and, while contributing substantially in that position, served as the on-site arrangements chair for the successful 1992 convention in Ogden, Utah, hosted by President Paul Thompson of Weber State University. And Sesh, especially in his role as Chair of the Department of English Language and Literature, made sure that an ever-increasing number of his faculty had the travel funds necessary to participate fully in RMMLA's annual conventions. A highlight of each convention was the evening Sesh and Neila hosted their colleagues for dinner and conversation at one of the finest Indian restaurants.

It is altogether fitting that we recognize today Neila and Sesh's consistently distinguished and long-time service to the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association by naming the faculty travel grant in their honor.

[Dedication written by Robert Hogge, Professor of English, Weber State University, and former RMMLA Delegate to the Executive Board]

This award provides funding to the RMMLA convention in the amount of $250 to one faculty member (a designation that includes university and college professors, independent scholars and faculty emeriti) who would otherwise experience a financial challenge traveling to the convention to present a paper accepted for any one of the regular or special topic sessions held that year. One runner-up award provides a waiver of the applicable convention registration fee.

The recipient of the 2007 Neila and Candadai Seshachari Faculty Travel Grant is Maria Mikolchak (St. Cloud State University) who wil be presenting "English Composition: Service-Learning and Technology Project" in the Teaching English Composition session. The runners-up, receiving a waiver of the convention registration fee, were Soophia Ahmad (Aligarh Muslim University, India) and Kara Tennant (Cardiff University, Wales).

The deadline for submission is June 1. Please see below for submission guidelines.

Recent Neila and Candadai Seshachari Faculty Travel Grant recipients:

• 2006 - Marianne d'Ezio (University of Rome, La Sapienza)
• 2005 - Paul Quick (University of Georgia)
• 2004 - Martha Stoddard-Holmes (California State University, San Marcos) and Sue Ryan-Fazilleau (Université de La Rochelle, France)
• 2003 - Karen Blansfield (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
• 2002 - Sharon Hampel (University of Colorado, Boulder)  

The same application procedure holds for both the Faculty and Student Grants. Selection is based first on the completeness of the application, followed by a ranking based on five criteria: originality of research; scholarly context (reference to current research on topic); mechanics and style; coherent thesis statement; and contribution to scholarship in the field of study. To apply, one must:

1. Be a current member of RMMLA.
2. Have a conference paper based on original work accepted by the chair of an upcoming RMMLA convention session.
3. Submit BY EMAIL ATTACHMENT (no longer print application) to rmmla@wsu.edu an application packet (written in English only) which includes the following:
   1. A cover letter indicating the approximate costs of the applicant's travel to the RMMLA convention site.
   2. A statement from a department chair or college dean attesting to the fact that the applicant will receive no or minimal funding from his/her institution for the trip. In the case of independent scholars, a statement requesting funding within the cover letter will suffice.
   3. A copy of the email from the session chair indicating that the applicant's paper has been accepted for his/her session.
   4. A copy of the paper proposal and abstract.

1. Pre-register for the RMMLA convention by August 1.
2. Attend the convention and present his/her paper at the session.
3. Be present at the banquet to receive the award.
4. Provide travel receipts to the Secretariat after travel has been completed. Grant monies will be disbursed once these are received.

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