Funding Opportunities
Harry F. Gaugh Student Travel Fund Description and Guidelines
Description of the fund and its purpose:
The fund honors the memory of Harry F. Gaugh, who taught art history at Skidmore for
26 years. Professor Gaugh believed passionately that students need to study works
of art in person, rather than only through reproductions and secondary sources. His
colleagues in the Department of Art and Art History established the fund to allow
students to travel in groups to museums, galleries, and exhibitions, or to travel
individually to work on research projects.
Group trips led by Art History faculty:
Art history faculty can use money from the Gaugh Fund to take groups of students on
trips to see works of art. Interested faculty members should consult with the Department
Chair. The Chair can approve requests for up to $200, and will bring requests for
larger amounts to the Art History faculty for discussion.
Individual research trips for students:
Individual art history students can apply for travel funding to pursue research associated
with a course, independent study, or honors project. Interested students should submit
a brief (2-3 page) written application based on the guidelines below to the Department
Chair. The Art History faculty will decide whether to fund or deny the request, and
may decide to fund only part of it. Chair will notify applicants of the decision.
The maximum award amount is $200. Funds can be used only to cover expenses actually incurred and documented by original receipts. Eligible expenses include mileage (for driving up to 200 miles each way), tolls or parking, train or bus tickets, lodging, and admission fees, but not fuel, meal expenses, or purchase of books or catalogues.
Funding for lodging is limited to $50 per trip. Mileage should be calculated by multiplying the distance driven by the current IRS mileage rate. The rate can be provided by the Art History administrative assistant (518-580-5053) or the Financial Services office (518-580-5820). State taxes paid on lodging or other purchases cannot be funded.
Application guidelines for students:
Faculty sponsorship is required. Please discuss the project and funding needs with
your professor before proceeding. Then write an application that includes your name,
class year, major and minor, the amount requested, signatures of the applicant and
the faculty sponsor, and most importantly a project description and a detailed budget
estimate. Submit the application via email to the Department Chair.
The project description should include a working title and brief description of the project itself, and a discussion of how the proposed travel and study would contribute to the project. The detailed budget estimate should give a line-by-line account of proposed costs. Reasonable estimates are fine when exact amounts cannot be determined. It also is fine to request funding for only part of a total cost.
There are no application deadlines, but approval must be obtained before undertaking any funded activities. Please allow at least two weeks for your application to be considered. Funded costs normally are reimbursed after travel is completed. If waiting for reimbursement presents a financial hardship, please contact the Department Chair.
Within two weeks following the completion of all funded travel, submit original receipts and a typed, itemized list of all reimbursable costs to the Art History administrative assistant (Filene 113). Please allow at least two weeks for the reimbursement to be processed.
Funded student projects include:
- Helena Meier, '18, "Mary Cassatt's Women at the Opera: Representations of Modern Femininity." Research trip to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
- Nathaniel White, ’18, “Beyond Representation: Remapping Mona Hatoum onto Neo-Materialism.” Research trip to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
- Olivia Tyson, '17, "The Allure of the Anonymous Portrait Daguerreotype." Attendance at the 2016 Annual Daguerreian Society Conference, New York City.