Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award

This award was made possible by a generous gift from the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation, which was matched by many additional donors to create the Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award Endowment. Will Eisner was a major cartoonist, writer, educator and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series, The Spirit (1940–1952), was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term “graphic novel” with the publication of his book A Contract With God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Family Foundation continues his support of the cartoon arts. The Will Eisner Seminar Room in the BICLM was named in honor of the late cartoonist.

The award is named for the founding curator of the BICLM, Professor Emerita Lucy Shelton Caswell. Prior to her retirement, her scholarly work and teaching focused on the history of newspaper comic strips and the history of American editorial cartoons. She has curated more than seventy-five cartoon-related exhibits and is the author of several articles and books, the most recent being the revised edition of Billy Ireland. Caswell is co-editor of The Ohio State University Press Studies in Cartoons and Comics series. She also serves as the vice president of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, the annual citywide celebration of cartoon art.

The award is open to non-OSU graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars (including scholars with or without advanced degrees or without institutional affiliations) who are at least 18 years old and live more than 60 miles from the Ohio State University’s main campus. Due to new policies and restrictions, this award is currently only available to United States citizens or permanent residents.

Applications will be evaluated based on the originality and significance of the research topic, the potential of the project to contribute to new scholarship or creative works, the relevance of the collection materials to the project, and evidence of the need to use the materials on-site. We encourage applicants from all disciplines who are using cartoons or comics in their research projects. Our holdings of books, serials, original art, and archival collections can be searched at our website.

• December 7, 2025: Deadline for all applications; must be received or postmarked by this date
• February 13, 2026: Decisions will be emailed to applicants
• May 4, 2026: Recipient must complete paperwork that will enable payment
• July 1, 2026: Recipient may begin making research visits
• June 30, 2027: Recipients must complete their onsite research visits and knowledge sharing with the university by this date
• July 31, 2027: Deadline to submit a brief statement or report describing research visits and summarizing results