SCS-WCC Covid-19 Relief Fund
(2019-2021)

The Women’s Classical Caucus (WCC) and The Society for Classical Studies (SCS) jointly created the SCS-WCC COVID-19 Relief Fund, in April 2019 as a new award fund to support classicists, particularly graduate students and contingent faculty, experiencing precarity as a result of the pandemic. To read about its development, click here.

In the original configuration of the SCS-WCC Covid-19 Relief Fund, applicants did not have to be current members of the SCS or WCC but did need to be currently active scholars or graduate students who study the ancient Mediterranean world.

Awards from this fund were provided to offer quick relief, based on need, in amounts up to $500. Every award recipient also had the opportunity to receive free one-year membership in the WCC, the SCS, or partner organizations like CAMWS, CANE, and CAAS. Awards were generally disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to those with the greatest need, particularly those who have lost funding, paid work, or access to essential research resources as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Due to the prolonged nature of the pandemic and current depletion of funds, the fund was suspended in September 2021. The WCC continues to give “hardship funds” through the WCC Equity Fund. Running for 17 cycles, the Covid Relief Fund raised over $110,000 and disbursed 300 individual microgrants.