Professional Development Grants

To apply for an ACE Professional Development grant of up to $1,500, submit a one- to two-page proposal using the application form (Word document).

Your proposal should include your professional development plan, anticipated outcomes and how the grant will enhance your development opportunities. You should describe your service/activities with ACE and your involvement in the profession. The project should be completed within the upcoming year. Individual applicant must have been a member of ACE for at least three years. Team applications must have a lead person who has been a member of ACE for at least three years.

Submit your proposal and a letter of support from your supervisor to ACE Headquarters via e-mail (ace@ifas.ufl.edu) by December 3, 2007. The Development Fund Committee will review applications and notify the president and coordinator of its decision by January 11, 2008.

The trustees will give weight to those that:

• have broad application so other members may benefit from professional development experience;
• generate outcomes valuable to both the applicant and the profession;
• develop new knowledge and information in our discipline;
• apply concepts or technology in innovative ways;
• demonstrate teamwork, particularly across disciplinary lines; and
• reflect the applicant’s previous service to ACE.

Amounts awarded vary based on need and funds available in a given year.

Past Grant Recipients

Progress Report Form (PDF) and Final Report Form (PDF) for Professional Development Grant recipients. Please submit these reports to the ACE coordinator. The coordinator will forward your report to the appropriate member of the Development Fund Committee.

2007

Mexico Study Tour Part II: Education and Communication of Rural Mexico
-Candace Pollock

Study of the Use and Value of the LSU AgCenter's Web Site
-Linda Benedict, Frankie Gould, Kappie Mumphrey

2006

National ACT Scotland Agricultural Communications Study Tour
-Jefferson Miller

National ACT Scotland Agricultural Communications Study Tour
-Sherilyn D. Hoyer

Mexico Study Tour
-Candace Pollock

"ACE Membership Attitudes and Characteristics: An Internet-Based Survey"
-ACE Membership Committee

2005

"ACE Membership Trends: A 10-Year Study"
-ACE Membership Committee

"Building a Case for Grassroots Support: The Michigan Experience"
-Laura Probyn

"Syndicating Agriculture News With RSS"
-Blair L. Fannin

2004

Agricultural Communications Summit: Tracy Irani, David Doerfert, Cindy Akers, Tracy Rutherford, Larry Whiting

2003

2003 Winners (PDF Poster)

2002

Victoria Creed from Learning Partners conducted a workshop entitled "Leadership: Building Relationships in a Diverse World." The Development Fund Grant covered her fee and some travel; SIG money was used to pay the balance of her travel.

The program itself dealt with several themes, including identification and perpetuation (or modification) of group norms, listening skills, identifying barriers of difference, defining levels of trust along a trust continuum, and earning and maintaining trust. The symposium was a mixture of small-group and whole group activities focusing on the notion of difference, diversity, and communication strategies to foster healthy inter- and intrapersonal communication skills.

Participants also broke into dyads for a 30-minute walk-and-talk to discuss current dilemmas facing them in their own workplaces. Each was instructed that this portion of the workshop was to remain in complete confidence -- since true confidentiality is the foundation stone for establishing that a trust situation exists -- and that the topics discussed in this exercise could NOT be discussed outside of this exercise. Substance of these conversations was not to be discussed with ANYONE else. If one member wanted to follow up with his or her discussion partner about a particular question beyond the specified discussion exercise, this could only be done with the other member's express permission.

Each participant discussed some particularly troubling dilemma he or she was facing in the workplace. The other participant was to listen, and could not offer any advice or suggestion. Rather, the listener could only ask "powerful" questions to guide the discussion, such as "What does it take to develop trust in this situation?" "What can you do to facilitate trust building?" "What can you contribute?" "What have you been doing that is a barrier to trust building?" Participants found the exercise very challenging, and were surprised to learn how difficult it had been to answer some of these "powerful" questions. Participants seemed to be quite pleased with the quality of the workshop.

Number of members attending the pre-conference workshop: 24

2001

Joan Thomson received a $1,200 grant to evaluate the current peer review process of the Journal of Applied Communications. She will develop written policy and guidelines that address the identification, appointment, expectations, orientation and recognition of JAC peer reviewers. This peer review policy will enhance the value of the Journal of Applied Communications to authors, reviewers and members alike.

2000

An ACE Professional Development Grant played a key role in bringing a Russian delegation to the U.S. Agricultural Communicators’ Congress 2000 and making it possible for ACE and the Russians to continue their partnership. The 2000 grant, for $1,190, went to Tatyana Ukhanova, who joined ACE in 1998 and made her first presentation at the Asilomar meeting. The grant recognized the key role Ukhanova has played in networking between Russia and ACE.

After becoming an ACE member in 1998 and attending the Asilomar meeting, she was instrumental in gaining an official invitation for an ACE delegation to visit Russia in 1999. That led to the signing of the first Memorandum of Understanding between the Press Video Center of the Ministry of Agriculture in Russia and ACE. This year, she co-presented a research paper with Eric Abbott summarizing recent developments in agricultural communication and extension in Russia.

1999

The 1999 ACE Professional Development Grant for $1,500 was awarded to Mark Tucker and Sherrie Whaley of Ohio State University. They have developed guidelines for writing and presenting quantitative research in agricultural and applied communications. Their condensed reference publication will describe common statistical tools and tests used in conducting agricultural communication research as well as a statistical system manual that can be used in presenting research findings in a paper or article. This resource will be the first of its kind to offer this type of information to ACE researchers.

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