In addition to collecting historical materials and investing in partnerships, The Dirksen Congressional Center pursues its mission by providing research grants and awarding scholarships.
Congressional Research Grants
The Center invites applications for grants to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress
The Center accepts applications for Congressional Research Grants at any time and makes awards up to four times per year based upon the competitive quality of the application pool. All applications received within a particular fiscal year (October 1-September 30) will either be approved or denied within that same fiscal year.
- About the Congressional Research Grants Sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center
- How to apply for a Congressional Research Grant
- Sample Grant Abstracts
- Congressional Research Grants: Selected Progress Reports
- Grant Recipients since 1978
contact Tiffany White with additional questions or for more information
Tiffany White
The Dirksen Congressional Center
2815 Broadway
Pekin, IL 61554-4219 USA
(309) 347-7113
twhite@dirksencenter.org
Awards
Michel — LaHood Summer Congressional Internship Program
Established in 2023, the Michel — LaHood internship provides stipends covering at least $7,000 per student in housing, living and travel expenses for Bradley University students to participate in summer internships in congressional offices on Capitol Hill. The stipends remove an often-insurmountable cost barrier faced by many students.
The program supports the transformative influence of mentorships among those seeking careers in public service. Its namesakes, former U.S. Reps. Bob Michel and Ray LaHood (IL-18) both had early-career experience in congressional offices themselves, and in turn they each influenced countless young interns and staffers.
Financing comes from an endowed fund first established by Ray LaHood in 2004. Ongoing community and business contributions supplement the fund for the benefit of future cohorts of interns.
Ray and Kathy LaHood Scholarships for the Study of American Government
The Dirksen Center sponsors the LaHood Scholarships to promote the study of politics and governance as practiced by the distinguished public servants who have represented Illinois’s 18th district in Congress, a list which includes Abraham Lincoln, Everett Dirksen, Robert H. Michel, Ray LaHood and, currently, Congressman Darin LaHood.
The purpose of the LaHood Scholarships is to provide financial support for tuition, fees, and books to Bradley University juniors who are majoring in a discipline related to The Dirksen Center’s purpose and interest or in a subject related to the study of the federal government. The program is managed by The Institute for Principled Leadership.
The LaHoods endowed the program with a series of donations to The Dirksen Congressional Center beginning in 2005.