Starting this semester, Emerson students and faculty have the opportunity to apply for research grants funded through $1.5 million left to Marlboro College by Robert “Bob” Edward Engel, a late professor of biology and environment studies who worked at Marlboro College.
The Robert Engel Research Grants Fund is composed of a $1.5 million estate that allows for about $60,000 in spending a year, according to Amy Ansell, dean of the Marlboro Institute of Liberal Arts. She said that up to 10 grants of $6,000 each could be awarded to “fund student research in biology, ecology, and closely-allied fields,” according to the college’s website. The deadline for applications is March 31, and recipients are notified by May 12 if they are selected. Those selected must conduct their research between July 1, 2025, and June 15, 2026.
“Emerson has more projects than you might think that fit into these fields,” Ansell said in an email statement to The Beacon. Examples of applicants could include an interdisciplinary studies student studying environmental journalism, a field trip in the Netherlands related to a new theme of water at Kasteel Well, or a student seeking funding for an internship with a climate justice organization.
“I think these grants will be a really valuable way to enhance classes here,” said Jaime Tanner, associate professor and Marlboro undergraduate curriculum coordinator. “We just want to structure this so that the money gets used in a way that honors Bob’s memory.”
A faculty member applying to the grants should incorporate experiential learning into their class curriculum and include student engagement in their proposal, according to the college’s website. Emerson students who apply must be in partnership with a faculty member and “identify an opportunity to supplement their education in these fields.” While the committee for reviewing these grants has not been finalized, Ansell said it will include a range of faculty from different departments.
“The review committee will include representatives of faculty from across the college,” Ansell said. “Faculty who teach courses in programs such as environmental sciences, environmental studies, sustainability studies, eco-cinema, environmental writing/journalism, environmental economics, and marking will be prioritized.”
Engel worked at Marlboro College from 1975 until his retirement in 2011. When passed away in 2018, gifted the sum to the college for the fund. Emerson acquired Marlboro in a historic merger in 2019 that gave Emerson its $30 million endowment and closed its southern Vermont campus.
Beyond the fund, Engel’s impact is lasting at Emerson: Tanner met Engel in 2009 when she interviewed for a biology professor position at Marlboro College.
“He was a friend of mine,” Tanner said in an interview with The Beacon. “I was hired to take over. I don’t say replace him, because there was no replacing Bob.”
Engel’s way of teaching, as described by his colleagues, was one of “immersion.” Tanner recalled how Engel would take his students to the ocean or a desert to actually see what they were learning about.
“Marlboro College is a different kind of teaching environment than it is here at Emerson,” Todd Smith, an associate professor in the Marlboro Institute who met Engel at the Vermont campus in 1999, said. “Watching Bob, and listening to him and seeing him work with students was really, really valuable for me.”
While Engel established the grant for Marlboro in 2018, Tanner, along with a few other Marlboro professors, met more recently to decide how best to use the money in a way that would honor Engel’s memory.
“Jenny Ramstetter, myself, and Amy Ansell from the Marlboro Institute tried to shape this award in a way that honored the way that Bob viewed the world,” Tanner said. “For both Bob and myself, the possibility for students to immerse themselves in the natural world to better understand and appreciate it is really at the heart of this.”
