University Libraries

Applications sought for 2025 M. G. Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards

Graduate, undergraduate students at all Penn State campuses eligible to submit proposals by deadline of March 17

The M. G. Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards, funded through the Marjorie Grant Whiting Endowment for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge, support research conducted by Penn State students on topics that focus on aspects of Indigenous knowledge. Clockwise from top left: A book from the Ayer Collection in the Newberry Library, Chicago, being used for research by Micaela Wiehe, a doctoral candidate in history and 2024-25 Whiting Award recipient. Top center and right: Cornhusk braids from Indigenous farms in New Mexico, the site of research conducted by Brisa Oliveira de Avila, a master’s degree student in international affairs and 2024-25 Whiting Award recipient. Bottom right: Wiehe in front of a mural in Pilsen, a center of Mexican culture in Chicago. Bottom left: Kyle Marini, a doctoral candidate in art history and 2024-25 Whiting Award recipient, visiting Incan ruins at the Ingapirca Archaeological Complex in Ecuador. Background image: Bison herd in New Mexico. Credit: Brisa Oliveira de Avila, Kyle Marini, Micaela Wiehe, Christopher Blaska / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Proposals are now being accepted for the 2025 M. G. Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards. A maximum of $2,500 per project will be awarded, with funding made available through the Marjorie Grant Whiting Endowment for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge.

Current Penn State graduate and undergraduate students are invited to submit proposals to conduct research between May 2025 and March 2026 on topics that focus on aspects of Indigenous knowledge. The deadline for submissions is March 17, and the application form and submission instructions are available online.

Presented annually, the Whiting Awards fund research topics that focus on aspects of Indigenous knowledge for an undergraduate capstone course or honors, master’s or doctoral thesis. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines local and Indigenous knowledge as “the understandings, skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings.”

Graduate and undergraduate students enrolled at any Penn State campus, including World Campus, are eligible to apply.

Faculty volunteers are also needed to review proposals.

The award program is administered by Penn State University Libraries. A list of past recipients with descriptions of their research projects is available on the Libraries website.

The Marjorie Grant Whiting Endowment for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge was created in 2008 with a gift from the California-based Marjorie Grant Whiting Center for Humanity, Arts and the Environment. The center was established after Whiting’s death in 1995 as a way to preserve the scientific and humanistic legacy of a woman whose career as a nutritional anthropologist contributed to an understanding of the cultural interface between diet and health.

For more information, contact Kevin Seeber, head librarian at the Abington Campus Library, Penn State Abington, at kevinseeber@psu.edu.

 

Last Updated February 6, 2025