The Liberia Studies Association, a non-profit scholarly organization that comprises of researchers in disciplines relevant to Liberia, has announced a travel award to allow early career scholars to attend its annual conference.

LSA disclosed that it would provide recipients of the award with US$400 each and pay all registration requirements for the association’s 52^nd annual conference to take place at Cornell University in the United States next year.

According to the association, the aim is to encourage and foster early-career scholars emerging as contributors to African or Liberian scholarship.

“The award will support master’s or doctoral students who are members of an academic, research or professional institution,” LSA said in the release.

“Those who graduated with such degrees must have done so in the last three years (2016-2019).”

While substantial for students based in the U.S., the award is not enough to fully cover the travel fees of students based in Liberia. The conference tends to be dominated by scholars based outside Liberia.

Applicants are required to submit an 8 to 10-page draft of a paper to be reviewed by both the association’s selection committee and the Liberia Studies Journal editor by February 1, and the final paper received by March 23, 2020.

Award recipients would be allowed to present their papers at the organization’s annual conference in the U.S. and their work will be considered for publication in the Liberia Studies Journal. The upcoming conference will focus on “The Functional State: Historical Lessons, Current Best Practices and Future Paths.”

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