Academic Affairs

The  Faculty Development Committee awards funds to faculty for scholarly and artistic projects. Applications are reviewed in detail and applicants should demonstrate the rigor of their proposed project in a manner appropriate to their discipline. Applicants should also review the application guidelines carefully, as proposals that do not follow the guidelines will not be funded. The narrative portion of a proposal should be presented in a form comprehensible to colleagues outside of the applicant's discipline. A maximum of $4,000 may be awarded per application and faculty may receive no more than two awards per academic year. Applicants may seek retroactive funding for expenses incurred over the previous twelve-month period. Those holding Faculty Leave Fellowships, or the equivalent in internal or external leave support, cannot resort to this fund to support travel, relocation or living expenses associated with lengthy (greater than one semester) excursions during sabbatical.  Others on sabbatical may apply for a maximum of $4,000 for travel, relocation or living expenses.

Those faculty members receiving Faculty Research Fund grants will be expected to report briefly on the uses to which the grant was put and to describe the scholarly or artistic work resulting from the grant.

Deadlines for submission are: October 12, 2011,  January 17, 2012 and April 16, 2012.

What to submit
A complete Faculty Research Award application must include the following:

1. Title of the project.
2. A brief abstract of the project (fewer than 100 words).
3. A narrative description (no more than two pages single-spaced, 12 point font, one inch margins) in which the applicant makes clear in language that is accessible to non-specialist colleagues the following:
   1. The basic ideas, problems, works, or questions the study will examine, and the steps to be taken to accomplish this research;
   2. The significance of the project to the applicant’s scholarly field and research program;
   3. The significance of the project to the applicant’s continued scholarly development.
4. A clear statement of the anticipated outcome(s) of the project.
5. A budget, as descriptive and detailed as possible. Please round off figures to the nearest $10 when submitting your budget. In the case of a request for conference travel, a description of the proposed use of the Dean’s professional conference travel funds must also be included.
6. A statement indicating the date and amount of award(s) from the Faculty Development Committee received over the past six years. A brief summary of the results of work supported by such prior funding is a prerequisite for additional funding. Any relationships between previously funded projects and the current one must be described.
7. A statement indicating what other sources of funding have been requested or received for the proposed project. Requests for subventions for book publishing should be accompanied by a letter from the press that clarifies the publisher’s policy and provides information about the costs for which the applicant seeks funding.
8. A current curriculum vitae, no longer than five pages.

NOTES: Cover letters are not considered in the evaluation of an application. This fund customarily supports the most economical reasonable means of transportation. Applicants should provide justification for any other form of travel. The FDC strives to return decisions within a month of application submission deadlines.

How to submit
All applications must be submitted electronically on or before the deadline date to fdc@list.bowdoin.edu. Applications must be submitted in a single document in Microsoft Word or PDF format; no other electronic format will be accepted. For assistance in creating PDF documents, please contact the IT Help Desk.

An incomplete or late application will not be considered.