The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation granted Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby Colleges an award of $300,000 over two academic years 06/07 and 07/08 to support collaborative faculty professional development initiatives at our three institutions. These initiatives are led by a faculty steering committee with faculty from each of the colleges. The grant supports three types of activities: faculty seminars, collaborative research and pedagogical efforts, and sharing institutional expertise. The steering committee welcomes proposals for:
1) Faculty Seminars
The steering committee invites proposals from cross-college groups of faculty to participate in seminars as seminar leaders or seminar associates. Participating faculty will meet on a regular basis. The seminars can take place during the academic year, during the summer, or in combination.
Seminar leaders will be expected to organize and convene the meetings, select readings related to the topic chosen and direct at least one session of the seminar devoted to the topic. Seminar leaders may also invite speakers. Leaders will be responsible for submitting an initial plan for the seminar meetings as well as a final report to the steering committee.
Seminar associates will be asked to read the selected readings and to attend the meetings of the seminar. The goal is that seminar associates will receive and share new perspectives about the seminar topic that can inform their teaching and/or scholarship.
Faculty leaders and associates will receive stipends. All participants in a seminar will receive up to $100 for one half-day and up to $200 for one whole day of participation, and leaders will receive an additional amount of up to $1000, depending on the scale of the project. Funds are also available for the purchase of material.
Each college will serve as host for at least one faculty seminar over the life of the grant.
2) Research and Pedagogy
The steering committee invites proposals for collaborative faculty research or pedagogical development. Faculty may work in pairs or larger groups on single projects or around a unifying theme. Funded participants will be expected to meet with their peers and make presentations on campus.
Proposals for grants of up to $15,000 (total) are welcome. Funds may be used to cover summer stipends (maximum $2,500/per person), equipment, travel, specialized software, and supplies.
We anticipate that three to five research and pedagogy projects will be funded per year (the exact number depends on the budget requests of funded projects).
Application Process
General Information. Faculty members must complete an application cover sheet, current curriculum vitae for all applicants (for research and pedagogical development proposals), a two- to three-page proposal narrative, and a detailed project budget. The narrative part of a proposal should be written so as to be comprehensible to colleagues outside of the applicants’ own discipline(s). Proposals are judged based on the following randomly listed criteria:
Degree of cross-college collaboration
Quality of proposal
Potential lasting value of project
Extent of effects on student learning
Cost effectiveness of budget
Application Cover Sheet. On the cover sheet state the project title, the faculty person who is the leader or Principal Contact, and the proposed project category, seminar or research/pedagogy. In addition, include a project abstract of not more than 150 words, the project start and end dates, and the total amount of the proposed budget.
Narrative. In a narrative of two- to three pages, include a statement describing the project and its importance to the applicants’ ongoing scholarship or teaching. Information on seminar design or research procedures, research venues and travel, technology needs, teaching/learning design should be provided in detail, as applicable. The narrative should also address attempts to secure other sources of funding for the project, and should explain if existing intramural grants awarded to the Faculty member in prior years will be used to cover some expenses. A project timetable should explain how the work will be completed in the time allotted.
Detailed Budget. The proposal must include a detailed budget of all expenses for the project, and a justification. Preference is given to proposals with specific, well justified budgets.
Faculty development Seminar grants support such expenses as:
• Stipends for participants
• Materials
• Travel and honoraria for invited speakers
Faculty development Research and Pedagogy grants support such expenses as:
• Travel of faculty members for research or curriculum development
• Summer stipends up to $2,500 maximum per person
• Research materials (books, data sets, scores, assessment tests, journals, microforms, electronic resources, etc.)
• Communication (phone, fax, mail, subject/consultant reimbursement, etc.)
• Laboratory research (supplies, instruments, consumables, analytical services and testing)
• Technology (computer software and hardware, digital cameras, video equipment, tape recorders, etc.)
• Supplies and materials for artistic work (visual and performing arts)
• Performance costs (fees for professional actors or musicians, instruments, staging, space rental, etc.)
• Publication costs (typing, editing, graphics, transcriptions, indexing, illustrations, reproduction fees, etc.)
• Student assistants (research, curriculum development, or editorial assistants)
Grants do NOT normally support:
• Regular living expenses during a leave
• Travel or living expenses for family members
• Personal gear (clothing, medicines, personal items)
Reports. The person designated as the Principal Contact for each collaborative faculty group must submit a Final Report to the Steering Committee before any faculty stipends can be paid. The Final Report should be submitted within sixty days of the end of the award period. The report should include a brief description of the meetings or seminars held, the collaborative project outcomes (including relevant effects on pedagogy, effects on research or artistic scholarship, and establishment of long-term collaborative connections), and envisioned future collaboration arising (such as possible grant submissions) from work begun during this project. For multi-year projects, the Principal Contact should submit a simple Project Progress Report by June 15 to allow faculty participants to receive partial stipends in accordance with the stipend policy at each college.
How to Submit Proposals. All applications must be submitted electronically on or before the deadline date to Mellon_cbb_grant@list.bowdoin.edu in a single document in PDF format; no other electronic format will be accepted. For assistance in creating PDF documents, please contact your Information Services Help Desk. Electronic applications will be distributed automatically to all members of the Bates, Bowdoin, Colby Faculty Development Project Steering Committee.
Application Deadline for 2008:
• Monday, May 12, 2008 for projects commencing in summer or fall 2008.
4/2008
