Barnhurst-Doherty Award
We are excited to have had two cohorts! The next deadline will be May 1, 2026.
Professor Emeritus Kevin Barnhurst taught in the department of communication from 1998 until his retirement in 2012, serving as interim head in 2002 and department head from 2005 to 2008. His research and teaching covered political communication, sociology of young audiences, journalism history, visual culture and qualitative methods. He explored the transformation of news in the 20th century and the sociopolitical influences on the definition of "news" in newspapers, radio, television, and digitally. His husband, Richard Doherty, served as lecturer and academic technology resource coordinator in the department of communication and served as a faculty advisor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. After leaving UIC, they both taught at the University of Leeds before settling in New Hampshire. Kevin died in 2016.
Barnhurst and Doherty have generously funded a Graduate College-based endowment to support the academic work of graduate students whose work reflects LGBTQ studies. We anticipate running a competition each December and/or summer.
Our recipient from the fall 2025 competition was doctoral student Muhammed Rashedul Hasan (communication).
Inaugural winners were Franklin Howard, PhD student in history, and Priyanka Kundu, PhD student in communication. Our second cohort consisted of doctoral students Marty Heath (communication); Bri Noonan (disability studies), and Sam Weiss (disability studies).
Kevin stands out as a preeminent and inspired scholar, whose work forged new directions for those of us interested in questions about contemporary media and contemporary life. His work tirelessly traces how underrepresented and marginalized publics strive for visibility and voice.
| UIC professor and head of communication
Overview
The Barnhurst-Doherty Award provides matching funds to supplement monies already received to offset the expense of travel to professional conferences, seminars, and workshops at which the recipient(s) have presented original research of their own authorship. The recipients shall be in good academic standing. Preference shall shall be given to students who are pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts whose work reflects LGBTQ studies at UIC; however, students who are pursuing a graduate degree in any department under the auspices of the Graduate College are eligible with priority given to research that overlaps LGBTQ studies. (Ineligible degrees include: MPH, MBA, DrPH, MD, DMD, JD, PharmD, LLM. This is not the complete list.) UIC Global Students are not eligible.
Expectations
Students’ proposals should describe the nature of their research, where it was presented, the expenses incurred, and the details of their other funding.
Students are encouraged to apply for matching funds to help cover the expenses of travel to professional conferences, seminars and workshops at which the recipients presented original research of their own authorship. (Applicants may not, however, “double dip” and receive more funding — from all sources — than the costs incurred.)
Eligibility
- The applicant must be in good academic standing and enrolled in a UIC graduate degree.
- The travel must have occurred in the current fiscal year, which starts July 1.
- While the primary preference shall be for graduate students who are pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and whose work reflects LGBTQ studies, applications from students in other graduate programs under the auspices of the Graduate College will also be considered.
- Recipients of the award may not reapply within the same calendar year and priority will always be given to applicants who have not won previously.
- Regardless of FTE, an individual with an Academic Professional (AP or BA), a Civil Service (CS), or an Extra Help (HP) position at the time of payment is ineligible.
Criteria
- Project’s merit
- Demonstrated need
- Adherence to the spirit of the award
Procedure
Appointed by the Dean of the Graduate College, reviewers of will consist of faculty and/or staff members from several units, e.g., the Department of Communication, the Gender & Women’s Studies Program, the Gender & Sexuality Center, and the Graduate College. Reviewers evaluate applications using the eligibility and selection criteria.
terms
Subject to the funds available from the endowment, single or multiple awards may be given out each year. Competitions may take place in December and/or May.
Payment Processing
The payment is applied to the student’s university account and is considered a resource when determining the student’s eligibility for financial aid. Therefore, the payment is reported to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) and may have an impact on the type and amount of financial aid the student receives. OSFA will make the necessary adjustment to the student’s financial aid award. This adjustment may create or increase a balance due on the student’s university account. The student is responsible for reviewing their Financial Aid Award letter and student account billing statement after the payment has been paid to understand the impact of the payment. Payments to Foreign National students are processed through University Payroll and may require additional paperwork.
Funds are disbursed directly to the student and students would be responsible for any taxation. Students must have direct deposit through the university.
submission
The student completes and submits the application, and is responsible for coordinating on-time arrival of the faculty certification/letter of support.
Applications include the following components
Application including:
- Application Form
- Curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé (not to exceed two pages);
- Proof of presentation (scanned printout of the program page listing the applicant’s presentation from the official conference website along with the URL, or a copy of the cover page from a program along with the page that lists the applicant’s name and the date and time of the applicant’s presentation, or an official letter or email addressed to the applicant stating that they have been accepted as a presenter);
- Abstract of work presented;
- Proof of payment (copies of paid receipts);
- Proof of other award(s), e.g., UI System President’s Research in Diversity Travel Assistance Program, Graduate College Award for Research, GSC Travel Award, departmental travel award, professional society travel award.
The applicant must arrange for the their advisor, co-advisor, department head/chair, director of graduate studies, or a member of their thesis/dissertation to provide a brief (paragraph-long) explanation of the significance of the original research presented and of the meeting/conference. This document may be included in the PDF (as the last item) or sent by the faculty member directly as an attachment to the same Box email address (below). In sum, the student assembles the necessary materials and submits a single PDF by the deadline.
submit
Documents must be included in this sequence, as a single PDF:
- Application form
- CV or résumé (not to exceed two pages)
- Proof of presentation
- Abstract of the work presented
- Proof of payment, i.e., copy of paid receipt(s)
- Proof of other award(s)
Submit applications as a single PDF to: BDA_Sub.itkxv560ygire4o5@u.box.com
Use this naming convention:
4DigitYear-2DigitTerm-BDA-LastNameFirstInitial.pdf
Using the example Harvey Milch submitting in Spring 2026:
2026-Sp-BDA-MilchH.pdf
“Fa” = fall; “Sp” = spring.
Applications may only be submitted following completed travel — not prior.
Other funding available
NYPL Martin Duberman Visiting Fellowship for LGBTQ+ Studies. Promoting excellence in LGBTQ studies by supporting scholars engaged in original, archivally-based research, the fellowship is open to established and emerging scholars, both academics and independent scholars. The selected scholar will receive $25,000 to fund their research at the New York Public Library, to be conducted between September 2026-June 2027. They will be expected to utilize the LGBTQ collections at NYPL, though it is not expected they confine themselves to those collections. Note that the recipient will be required to give a public talk at the Library on their work as part of the fellowship. Deadline: May 31.
American Psychological Foundation (APF). No citizenship restrictions.
- Wayne F. Placek Research Grants support research to increase the general public’s understanding of homosexuality and sexual orientation, and to alleviate the stress that LGBTQIA+ individuals experience. The grant offers support up to $15,000 for one year of research on LGBTQIA+ issues. Deadline: June 12.
- Springfield Research Fund Dissertation Fellowship supports graduate students at any stage of the dissertation who are interested in researching contemporary LGBTQIA+ issues in an effort to dispel stereotypes and other negative information that leads to prejudice and discrimination. 1 grant @ $10,000 + $1,000 publication bonus. Deadline: June 12.