Application Deadline: February 21, 2025
Grant Period: June 1, 2025–May 31, 2026
Richard and Camille Sinatra Endowment Grant
For almost 40 years, Richard Sinatra, Ph.D., served as an Associate Dean, Chair, Program Director, and Professor in The School of Education. He also served as the Chair of the Faculty Research Consortium (FRC) for the Vincentian Institute for Social Action (VISA) from 2008 to 2015. Dr. Sinatra has long been an advocate for systemic change. This endowment is an example of his continued commitment to education, the development of research at the University, and generous mentorship of junior (tenure-track) faculty.
VISA is proud to partner with the Sinatra family to provide an academic platform where junior (tenure-track) faculty can explore issues of poverty and social injustice, as well as provide potential recommendations/solutions through community-based outcomes research.
The Office of University Mission is proud to partner with the Sinatra family to strengthen its mission of providing an academic platform where faculty and students can explore issues of poverty and social injustice, as well as provide potential recommendations through research. The goal of the endowment is to promote outcomes-based research in the community. For almost 40 years, Dr. Richard Sinatra served as an associate dean, chair, faculty member, and program director in the School of Education. He also served as the Chair of the Faculty Research Consortium for The Institute for Vincentian Impact from 2008 - 2015. Dr. Sinatra has long been an advocate for systemic change. This endowment is an example of his continued commitment to education and the development of research at the University.
This grant supports community-based outcomes research for full-time junior (tenure-track) faculty at St. John’s University. Through outcomes research, quantitative methods are used to evaluate community-based interventions. These interventions may be from any discipline, with the specific aim of improving the areas of poverty and social justice.
Purpose of Grant
The purpose of this grant is to support junior (tenure-track) faculty who are planning to develop or replicate interventions and test their efficacy. This research may be from any discipline, with the specific aim of directly addressing mission-related poverty and/or social justice problems. These interventions can be educational, psychological, economic, etc. Given the complexity of intervention research, this may be an opportunity to collect pilot data for a larger trial.
The FRC particularly welcomes applications from junior faculty who have developed a community partner collaboration and who are now looking to embed/enhance an outcomes evaluation to address a clearly articulated research question(s). The FRC will place grant award priority on applications that identify a sound research question and appropriate methodology to address the question during the grant period. Lastly, the role of the FRC is to provide guidance to grant awardees, including guidance with enhancing research methodology and plans for statistical analysis.
Eligibility
Full-time junior (tenure-track) faculty at St. John’s University are eligible to apply for this grant. Applicants can be individual or collaborative, but the principal investigator must be tenure-track faculty.
Grant Award Amount (Grant period: June 1, 2025–May 31, 2026)
$2,500
Application Deadline
2026 Application TBD
Questions
For any questions on this grant opportunity, please contact Kara A. James, Senior Secretary, at [email protected] or 718-990-5947.
Award Notification Date
The Richard and Camille Sinatra Endowment Grant is a competitive, application-based award. Awardees will be notified of the decision on their application/proposal by April 1, 2025.
Criteria for Grant Proposals
- Empirical question being asked is related to intervention outcomes
- Proposal must clearly outline the specific aims and hypotheses, research design, participants, measures, intervention, and statistical methods including power analysis/sample size, timeline, and budget
- Show feasibility (e.g., by including a letter of commitment from community partners)
- Include description of current internal/external funding for the project (if applicable)
More Information
Sample Application Guidelines from 2024:
- Cover page
- Abstract
Summary of the proposed project in 200 words or less
- Proposal
In 3-5 pages, provide specific information on the proposed research project. Please include the following sections:
1. Background and significance (i.e., theory and/or previous research)
2. Specific aims and hypotheses
3. Research design
4. Participants (including power analysis when relevant)
5. Measures (including description of reliability and validity)
6. Proposed intervention
7. Statistical methods
8. Projected dissemination of outcomes
9. Timeline (including IRB submission)
10. Detailed budget (including personnel, supplies, equipment, conference presentation travel only, etc.)
Funding Guidelines
Grant recipients must conform to the University guidelines on purchasing when using funds. Grant funding cannot be used for transportation, donations, contribution to existing programs or gifts, or anything not specified in the approved application or pre-approved by the FRC.
- Provide a report each semester for the duration of the project (a template will be provided to endowment grant recipients) for review by the FRC
- Participate or present during St. John’s University Research Month (April 2026)
- Submit a final report upon completion of the project (September 1, 2026)
- Submit an article for publication to Mission's Journal of Vincentian Social Action (http://scholar.stjohns.edu/jovsa/) or an appropriate journal to the researcher’s discipline (December 1, 2026)
- Acknowledge the support of the Richard and Camille Sinatra Endowment Grant through the Mission Office at St. John’s University in all papers and presentations relating to this project.
| Recipient Name | Year Awarded | Research Topic | College | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jenny Yang, Assistant Professor | 2024 | Curricular Intervention in Computer Science for English Learners | The School of Education | Queens |
| Max Freeman, PhD, Assistant Professor | 2022 | Does Clay-based Language Stimulation Enhance Children's Vocabulary and Syntax? | St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Queens |
| Seunghyun Park, PhD, Assistant Professor | 2021 | Efficient Roles of Vlogs to Improve Social Inclusion in Tourism for the Disabled | Collins College of Professional Studies | Queens |
| Max Freeman, PhD, Assistant Professor | 2020 | Language Outcomes for Children’s Use of Creativity through Open-Ended Materials during Language Stimulation | St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Queens |
| Gary E. Martin, PhD, Assistant Professor | 2018 | Girls with Intellectual Disability: Communication Skills in an Underrepresented Research Population | St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Staten Island |
| Shruti Deshpande, PhD, Assistant Professor | 2017 | A Sustainable Hearing Conversation Project for Liberty Partnership’s Program’s High School Students Implemented by Audiologists and Audiology Students Through Academic Service-Learning: A Symbiotic Impact | St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Queens |
| Elizabeth Brandolo, PhD, Professor | 2017 | Discrimination and Depression: Testing a Social Cognitive Model | St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Queens |
| William Reisel, PhD, Professor | 2016 | Developing a Pilot Study for Expanding an Ongoing AS-L Community Partnership with Central Family Life Center of Staten Island. | The Peter J. Tobin College of Business | Staten Island |
| Christine Chim, PharmD, Clinical Assistant Professor | 2016 | The Impact of a Pharmacist and Pharmacy Students Engaging with Northwell Health’s Communities via Home Visits | College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences | Queens |
| John W. McKenna, PhD, Assistant Professor | 2015 | Qualitative Study of Teacher Preparation and Provision of Special Education Services | School of Education | Queens |
| Michael Downton, PhD, Assistant Professor (with Judy Chen, EdD, SOE) | 2015 | A community of reflective teachers: Cultivating reflective practice to impact student teacher’s self-efficacy | School of Education | Queens |
Contact
For any questions on this grant opportunity, please contact:
Kara A. James, Senior Secretary
Institute for Vincentian Impact
Sullivan Hall
718-990-5947
[email protected]