Two University of Colorado at Boulder faculty members will receive $175,000 from the MacArthur Foundation for projects that focus on human migration.
The grants were among 26 awarded to scholars in Russia, Botswana, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, Northern Ireland and the United States.
J. Terrence McCabe, associate professor of anthropology and a faculty research associate with the Institute of Behavioral Science at CU-Boulder, and Paul W. Leslie, professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will receive $100,000 over 18 months for their study of "Alternative Consequences of Migration for Land Use and Conservation in Northern Tanzania."
Assistant Professor Emily Yeh of geography will receive $75,000 over 18 months for her study on "Contesting State Development: Migration, Markets and the Transformation of Tibetan Landscapes and Livelihoods."
The winning proposals were selected from 492 entries submitted from around the world. Grants of up to $75,000 were awarded for individual projects and for up to $100,000 for two-person collaborations.
Since 1986, the Research and Writing Competition has awarded 661 grants totaling nearly $35 million. This year's competition will be the last.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, headquartered in Chicago, is a private grant-making institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. With assets of more than $4 billion, the foundation makes grants totaling approximately $185 million annually.