The Consumer Movement Archives (CMA) is a research collection located in the Kansas State University Libraries Morse Department of Special Collections.  The CMA was established in 1987 through the initiative of Richard L. D. Morse, a prominent leader in the consumer movement for over fifty years. It provides a repository to preserve collections of consumer leaders, activists and organizations, and promote scholarly research

One goal of the CMA is to award scholarships and grants to support scholarly research. A new financial award of $2500 has been created to enable a faculty member, graduate student or independent researcher to travel to Manhattan, Kansas to conduct scholarly research using CMA collections.  Generously funded by a Morse family endowment, the CMA Research Award will continue to be granted on an annual basis.

The expected outcome of the CMA Research Award is for the recipient to complete a publication, thesis, dissertation, or other scholarly product based on research conducted using CMA materials.  While it is anticipated that the recipient will use sources from other archives and libraries, he or she is required to use the CMA collections onsite. The research trip(s) to the CMA must be completed within one year of receiving the award.  While the award is not intended to support a professional conference presentation or prepare content for an academic course, those may be byproducts of the applicant’s project.

After finishing the research project, the recipient will provide the CMA with:

1. a final report of approximately 1,000 words describing the outcome of the project and how the CMA was utilized
2. permission for the CMA to quote from and/or publish the final report
3. a copy of the completed product (e.g. book, article, thesis or dissertation, video)

Application Process

Applicants should review the descriptions of the CMA collections and are strongly encouraged to contact Anthony Crawford, Curator of Manuscripts, about their research projects and the CMA holdings prior to submitting an application.  For more information about the CMA, see lib.ksu.edu/depts/spec/archives/cma.html.

Applicants are required to submit:

1. a letter of application including a brief summary of the proposed research topic and tentative travel dates
2. a research proposal (not to exceed 1,000 words) including the intended outcome and the relationship of the CMA collections to the research project
3. current resume or curriculum vitae
4. graduate students only – a letter of recommendation from the major professor guiding thesis or dissertation research.

Please send applications and letters of recommendation to:

Applications must be received or postmarked by March 1, 2012.  The award recipient will be notified by April 1, 2012 and receive $1250 upon acceptance of the award and $1250 upon completion of the research project.  Undergraduate students and researchers living within close proximity of Manhattan are not eligible.

For further information, please contact: