Dr. Charles Humphrey Undergraduate Conference Travel Award

Charles Humphrey graduated from Pembroke State College in 1965 with a BS in Chemistry (Cum laude) before earning a PhD in Nutrition/Biochemistry from Clemson in 1972. From 1983 to 2013 he worked as a Research Biologist and Electron Microscopist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During his time with the CDC Dr. Humphrey took great pleasure in his role as a mentor to junior colleagues.

Because of Dr. Humphrey’s generosity and interest in encouraging both undergraduate research and faculty mentorship PURC will award a discrete number of conference travel awards to undergraduates so that they may attend a regional professional conference with a faculty mentor. Unlike the Student Travel Fund (STF), the student does not have to present research or creative work to qualify for funding. Award guidelines and stipulations are as follows:

AVAILABLE FUNDING/LIMITATIONS: 

The maximum request amount is $800;  Requests are due by the 1st of each month, with award announcement by month’s end. 

APPLICATION GUIDELINES: 

  • All award recipients must travel and attend a professional conference/meeting/show with a faculty mentor who will introduce them professional activities within their discipline. Preference will be given to students traveling to state or regional events.
  • Preference will be given to full/part-time students with freshman or sophomore standing who have completed a minimum of 12 credits at UNCP by the time of award and have never attended a professional conference. If no students in that category are eligible for the award, the PURC center may open up consideration to students of junior and senior standing. Students may only receive one award during their UNCP career. 
  • Preference will be given to economical proposals that let the PURC Council give multiple awards. Please note if other forms of funding for the trip have been awarded. All applications must feature a budget.
  •  Please submit a Travel Proposal.  This travel proposal must be developed in collaboration with and approved by the faculty mentor before proposal submission.  Travel Proposals must include a budget.
  • All award recipients must travel and attend a professional conference/meeting/show with a faculty mentor who will introduce them professional activities within their discipline. Preference will be given to students traveling to state or regional events.

ASSESSMENT AND AWARDS: 

  • Each travel grant request will be evaluated by the PURC office and may be referred to the PURC Council for consultation. 
  • Students may not use AI to write PURC proposals, either fully or partially, as the writing and editing involved is integral to the learning process.   Proposals fully or partially generated by AI will not be considered for funding.  All submitted proposals will be verified for AI authorship by PURC.
  • Award sizes are based upon availability of funds and previous student support. 
  • The PURC office reserves the right to fund proposals at a reduced amount if insufficient funds exist to support all applications of merit. 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: 

Email the following in PDF format to purc@uncp.edu (Incomplete, non-PDF or paper-only applications will be returned without review):

  1. Completed PURC cover sheet (see below) with faculty mentor approval and signature.
  2. A completed Student Travel Agreement Form.
  3. A typed explanation of the purpose of the travel.
  4. A detailed budget justification, including categorized trip costs (e.g. airfare, registration fees, hotel expenses, and amount requested).  Please include all sources of funding.
  5. A brief discussion of how the proposed activity will benefit the student, university, department and community (as applicable).

POST AWARD REQUIREMENTS: 

  • Within a month of completing travel, award winners will be required to produce a short description of their trip highlighting how the experience has affected their academic goals and expectations. It should feature excellent grammar and style as it will be sent to Dr. Humphrey. Additionally, award recipients may be asked to meet with Dr. Humphrey when and if he visits campus to attend the PURC Symposium.
  • All funded students are required to present their work at the PURC Symposium in the Spring of each year.   Students that do not complete this requirement become ineligible for future PURC funding.