Reading groups provide the opportunity to bring colleagues together to discuss ideas and create intellectual community. A reading group might also help lay the groundwork for a future collaborative project like developing an interdisciplinary team; drafting a grant proposal; drafting a paper or a book proposal; or planning an exhibition or a speaker series.

We encourage proposals that include creative, cross-disciplinary collaborations and/or offer means of engagement with critical issues. 

Inspiration and Ideas: 

• A monthly reading group with faculty across campus to discuss entomology, ethics and art. 
• A weekly reading group with faculty and graduate students to develop the framework for a proposal on oral histories of the Willamette River.  
• A quarterly book group to explore new research in material cultures.

Eligibility: 

• Oregon State University faculty working in the arts and humanities are invited to apply.
• Participation in the group is open to OSU faculty, staff and students as well as colleagues affiliated with other institutions.  

What we Offer: 

• $500 for the organizing faculty member to support their time and/or purchase supplies for your group + space in PRAx (if available) to host your meetings for a period of up to a year after award. 

Terms & Expectations: 

• The group convener will handle all logistics and will provide a report on the group’s activity and progress within one year of award. 

Program & Application Dates: 

• Applications are due the Monday of week four in Fall, Winter, and Spring terms. Applicants will be contacted by the end of week 8. 

The Arts and Humanities Opportunity Fund provides flexible support for faculty research and creative activities in the arts and humanities. Awards are designed to cover a wide range of projects at any point in the research process.

Small awards are those up to $1,500, while large awards fall between $1,501 and $10,000. Possible uses are outlined below, and we welcome proposals that speak to other faculty research and creative practice needs, as well. Please note that expenses related to course development and travel are typically funded at the school level or through campus-wide programs such as e-campus, DPO, WIC and the CTL.  

Eligibility:

• Awards are available to all faculty working on arts and humanities projects who are employed at .5FTE or higher.

Award Offerings: 

• Small awards, up to $1,500, may cover needs such as indexing, imaging permissions, or subventions for books under contract; book manuscript workshops; materials for a creative project; trainings to support research, scholarship, or teaching; archival research, or supplemental conference registration or travel.  
• Large awards, $1,501 - $10,000 are designed for projects with wider impacts, such as developing or hosting a conference or workshop on campus; developing and hosting an event connected to your scholarship; hiring a research assistant; or developing an exhibit connected to your artistic project.  

Terms & Expectations:

• PRAx will transfer funds to the recipient’s academic unit for disbursement. 
• Recipients of large grants will submit a 1-to 2-page report at the end of the activity describing how the funds supported their project.

Program & Application Dates:

• Applications are due by the Monday of Week 4 during Fall, Winter, and Spring terms. Applicants will be notified of status by the end of Week 8.  

Review & Selection: 

Applications will be evaluated by a diverse review committee composed of faculty with experience working across the arts and humanities. Reviewers will consider:  

• The feasibility of the project and alignment with the goals of the faculty member, school and university.  
• Prospective significance of the project’s impact. 
• Centrality of arts and/or humanities methods and practices to the project. 

Oregon State University graduate students from any field who work at the intersection of the humanities, writing, and environmental sciences are invited to apply for a residency sponsored by the Spring Creek Project. To be eligible, students must be engaged in a writing and/or research project (e.g., a thesis, independent study, or internship) that aligns with the mission of the Spring Creek Project, and applications must include a recommendation letter from a nominating faculty member. 

Residents receive exclusive use of the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek for approximately one week as well as a stipend of $250. The cabin offers a profound experience of concentrated solitude and simple living that is conducive to curiosity, reflection, and sustained focus. Within 4 weeks of the session end, residents will provide a short letter describing their experience at the cabin and how it influenced their work.  

Graduate students may apply for a solo residency or a collaborative residency with one other student. If applying collaboratively, each student will need to submit an application and faculty recommendation letter. If awarded collaboratively, each student will receive $250.

Program and Application Dates

One session is available during winter break:

• · Saturday December 12 – Friday, December 18, 2026.  

Application deadline: 11:59pm on November 1, 2026.

Materials will be reviewed by a selection committee familiar with the mission of the Spring Creek Project, and applicants will be notified of status by November 13.  

Two documents are required for applications to be considered complete:

• From a faculty member: a one-page recommendation letter that speaks to the content and direction of the proposed project and the student’s responsibility and ability to live respectfully in a nature preserve. This letter can be submitted directly by the faculty member via Submittable, so student applicants should share the link to this page with their referee when requesting a recommendation.
• From the student: a one-page narrative letter that describes the proposed project, communicates how the project aligns with the mission of the Spring Creek Project, and notes how time at Shotpouch Cabin would benefit project advancement.

For More Information

Please visit our website and/or contact residencies.prax@oregonstate.edu. 

About Shotpouch Cabin

The Cabin at Shotpouch Creek is a comfortable retreat nestled in the Oregon Coast Range on a 70-acre nature preserve about 25 miles west of Corvallis. It overlooks Shotpouch Creek, a tributary of the Tum Tum River in the Marys River Watershed. From the cabin, miles of hiking trails climb into the forest- and fern-covered hills. The cabin is furnished with two bedrooms, a well-equipped, simple kitchen, electric heat, and a landline telephone. There is no internet or cell phone service. Students must be highly responsible and respectful of the values of the retreat and in a position to benefit from prolonged solitude and silence. The cabin and land are entirely smoke-free, and we cannot allow pets. Residents must provide their own transportation to the cabin. More information will be provided before the stay.    

About the Spring Creek Project  

The mission of the Spring Creek Project is to bring together the practical wisdom of environmental science, the clarity of philosophy, and the transformational power of the written word and the arts to envision and inspire just and joyous relations with the planet and with one another. Dedicated to creating conversations among writers, philosophers, artists, and others in the humanities and environmental sciences, we work to nurture collaborations among people with various ways of seeing, understanding, and expressing the relation between humans and the rest of the natural world.   

Oregon State University faculty are invited to apply for a Spring Creek Project Faculty Residency at the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek. To be eligible, applicants must be engaged in a writing and/or research project aligned with the mission of the Spring Creek Project. Those working on projects at the intersection of environmental science and writing, art, music, social science, or the humanities would be a good fit. Faculty may apply for a solo residency or a collaborative residency (the collaborator is not required to be OSU-affiliated). 

Residents receive exclusive use of Shotpouch Cabin for approximately one week. The cabin offers a profound experience of concentrated solitude and simple living that is conducive to curiosity, reflection, and sustained focus. Residents will provide a short letter describing their experience and how it influenced their work within 4 weeks of session end.  

Program and Application Dates

One residency session for faculty is available during winter break:

• Sunday, December 27, 2026 through Saturday, January 2, 2027

Application deadline: 11:59pm Sunday, November 1, 2027. 

Applicants will be notified of status by November 13.    

Review and selection

Dedicated to creating conversations among writers, philosophers, artists and others in the humanities and environmental sciences, the Spring Creek Project works to nurture collaborations among people with various ways of seeing, understanding, and expressing the relation between humans and the rest of the natural world. A committee composed of writers and researchers familiar with this mission will review all applications.    

For More Information

Please visit our website or contact Joy Jensen at joy.jensen@oregonstate.edu.  

About the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek 

The Cabin at Shotpouch Creek is a comfortable retreat nestled in the Oregon Coast Range on a 70-acre nature preserve about 25 miles west of Corvallis. It overlooks Shotpouch Creek, a tributary of the Tum Tum River in the Marys River Watershed. From the cabin, miles of hiking trails climb into the forest- and fern-covered hills. The cabin is furnished with two bedrooms, a well-equipped, simple kitchen, electric heat, and a landline telephone. There is no internet or cell phone service. The cabin and land are entirely smoke-free, and we cannot allow pets. Residents must provide their own transportation to the cabin. More information will be provided before the stay.  

About the Spring Creek Project  

The mission of the Spring Creek Project is to bring together the practical wisdom of environmental science, the clarity of philosophy, and the transformational power of the written word and the arts to envision and inspire just and joyous relations with the planet and with one another. Dedicated to creating conversations among writers, philosophers, artists, and others in the humanities and environmental sciences, we work to nurture collaborations among people with various ways of seeing, understanding, and expressing the relation between humans and the rest of the natural world.