Grants Awarded by the Faculty Research and Development Committee

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General Criteria for Awarding the Funds

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  • The project contributes to a discipline(s), the University, and/or the public good. Projects that have the most potential to result in a scholarly product, have significant impact, and/or gain recognition outside of the Elon University, are looked upon favorably. (Elon has a broad view of scholarship, as defined in the Teacher-Scholar Statement.)
  • The project benefits the faculty member’s career as a teacher-scholar. Projects that have the most potential to contribute to the faculty member’s effectiveness as a teacher-scholar are looked upon favorably.
  • Other Considerations:
  • The proposal’s clarity in addressing the above criteria is important. The proposal is, in essence, a persuasive document and should be addressed to a committee composed of faculty representatives from a variety of disciplines. All things being equal, the committee looks favorably upon awarding those who have received little or no funding from the Faculty Research and Development Committee in the past.
  • The history of FR&D support and outcomes may be considered when making new awards.
  • FR&D prioritizes sabbatical leaves for funding over all other funding requests. All acceptable sabbatical leave proposals are funded.

Sabbatical Leaves

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Eligible faculty are encouraged to apply for sabbatical leaves if they are conducting extensive research or engaged in significant amounts of additional study that will result in the recipient’s professional development. Eligible faculty may apply for a leave of one-half a full year’s teaching load (12 shs) at full salary or for a leave of a full academic year (24 shs) at half-salary. The sum total of teaching hours plus reassigned time for departmental duties, such as chair responsibilities, plus 12 shs of sabbatical leave, will not exceed 24 shs for the recipient of a sabbatical leave in the academic year of that leave.

One or more sabbatical leaves may be granted for a full-year at full-pay. Applicants for this highly competitive sabbatical will apply by October 1st. Applications will be judged on the need for a full year to complete the scholarly project as well as the applicant’s previous scholarly productivity. Those applicants who do not receive the full-year, full-pay sabbaticals may choose to have their applications forwarded to apply for a single-semester semester sabbatical.

Any full-time faculty member who meets the following requirements is eligible to apply for a sabbatical leave:

  • Holds the rank of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor
  • Has completed at least five years of continuous service to the University in full-time-status

For the period of the sabbatical, the recipient is released from obligations to attend department, faculty, and committee meetings. The recipient’s advising load can be temporarily redistributed.

All fringe benefits will continue through the period of the sabbatical leave.

A minimum of five years of service to the University must elapse after a sabbatical leave has been taken before a teaching faculty member may apply for another sabbatical leave (in the Fall of the sixth year for a sabbatical in the seventh year).

A member of the faculty who is within two years of retirement will normally not be considered to be eligible for a sabbatical leave.

If a faculty member is applying for tenure in the same year as the sabbatical application, the awarding of the sabbatical will be contingent upon the granting of tenure.

A recipient of a sabbatical leave is expected to return to Elon University for at least one year. Recipients who fail to complete one year of full-time service at Elon University immediately following their sabbatical leave will be required to repay the monies advanced them by the University during their sabbatical unless the University terminates their employment.

Application for a sabbatical leave should be made via the online form provided by the Faculty Research and Development Committee. All applications for sabbaticals for the next academic year must be submitted on-line and both the chair and dean are notified of your application (full-year, full-pay applications are normally due by October 1st and other sabbatical applications are normally due later in October, see published deadline for exact dates).

The decision of the Faculty Research and Development Committee will be decided by blind review, based on the criteria stated in the beginning of this section and the merits of each individual case. The Faculty Research and Development Committee will report its decisions to the Assistant Provost for Scholarship and Creative Activity.

By September 15th of the year following the sabbatical, the faculty member is expected to submit a report to the Assistant Provost for Scholarship and Creative Activity. A standard report form will be provided by all sabbatical award recipients addressing the following:

  • The research or development objectives accomplished during the period of the sabbatical award
  • The refinements or changes, if any, to the original research or development plan
  • A description of how the sabbatical project has influenced the teaching, mentoring, or future scholarship activities of the recipient

The publication of the results of research projects supported by a grant from the University should include a printed acknowledgment of financial assistance from the University.

Summer Fellowships

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Faculty are encouraged to apply for summer fellowships if they are conducting research or engaged in a significant amount of additional study that will result in the recipient’s professional development. These fellowships are intended for those faculty members who will be doing a significant amount of work but not as much as a sabbatical leave would entail. The work for these fellowships should be completed during the University’s summer months. The amount of the Summer Fellowship is in excess of $8,875 and increases periodically (typically every five years) with the goal of matching average raise in the salary pool each year.

Summer fellowships are intended to provide a period of uninterrupted time, similar in nature to a sabbatical (see section above), to be used exclusively in the pursuit of a project intended to result in publication or some other tangible expression of scholarship and/or professional development.

Any full-time teaching faculty member who has served the University for one or more years is eligible to apply for a summer fellowship. Thus, the earliest possible award would be for the summer following a faculty member’s second year at the University.

Since summer fellowships are intended to provide for uninterrupted time, recipients should have six to eight weeks of the summer to dedicate to the fellowship. Summer fellows cannot teach more than the equivalent of one course during the summer.

Recipients of summer fellowships are expected to return to Elon University for at least one year. Recipients who fail to complete one year of full-time service at Elon University immediately following their fellowship grant will be required to repay the monies of the grant unless the University terminates their employment.

Applications for a summer fellowship should be made via the online form provided by the Faculty Research and Development Committee. All applications for summer fellowships for the following summer must be submitted on-line and both the chair and dean are notified of your application by the published deadline, (typically November 1).

The decision of the Faculty Research and Development Committee will be reached through blind review of the proposals and will be based on the criteria stated in the beginning of this section and the merits of each individual case. The Faculty Research and Development Committee will report its decisions to the Assistant Provost for Scholarship and Creative Activity.

A report of fellowship activities completed by the recipient should address the following:

  • The research or development objectives accomplished during the summer
  • The refinements or changes, if any, to the original research or development plan
  • A description of how the summer fellowship project has influenced the teaching, mentoring, or future scholarship activities of the recipient

The completed report form should be sent to the Assistant Provost for Scholarship and Creative Activity by September 15 of the year of the grant.

The publication of the results of research projects supported by a grant from the University should include a printed acknowledgment of financial assistance from the University.

Reassigned-Time Fellowships

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Full-time probationary faculty, as well as post-probationary faculty with 1-3 years in rank, are encouraged to apply for reassigned-time fellowships through FR&D if they are conducting research or engaged in additional study which can be completed during the academic semester for which they are requesting a reduced teaching load. Probationary faculty are eligible to reapply annually, up through but no later than one year less than the total of their probationary period (i.e., third, fourth, or fifth year). Post-probationary faculty with 1-3 years in rank are eligible to receive only one FR&D reassigned time award in their first 4 years following promotion. Applicants may apply for reassignment from one course (4 shs). There is no monetary award associated with this type of fellowship, except for the continuance of full pay at current levels with reduced teaching responsibilities.

Reassigned-time fellowships are granted for reassignment from one course during an academic year or semester. Reassigned-time fellowships are also granted for Winter Term. However, all full-time teaching faculty members must continue to meet minimum teaching expectations as defined in Faculty Workload - Minimum Teaching Expectations (E24D).

Decisions on research-related course reassignments are determined by an ad hoc committee chaired by one member of the Faculty Research and Development Committee and representatives from all the schools, including representatives from the three divisions in Arts and Sciences. Members of the Faculty Research and Development Committee that do not serve on this ad hoc committee are eligible to apply for research-related course reassigned times.

Reassigned-time fellowships are not intended to be used for degree completion.

Recipients of reassigned-time fellowships are expected to return to the University for at least one semester. If recipients fail to complete these requirements in the semester(s) immediately following their reassigned-time, they will be required to repay monies advanced them by the University for their fellowship unless the University terminates their employment.

Application for a reassigned-time fellowship should be made via the online form provided by the Faculty Research and Development Committee. All applications for reassigned-time fellowships for the following academic year must be submitted on-line and both the chair and dean are notified of your application by the published deadline for all requests for University releases, typically the third Friday of September.

The decisions of the Faculty Research and Development Committee and ad hoc committee for research-related course reassigned times will be decided by blind review and based on the criteria stated in the beginning of this section and the merits of each individual case. The Faculty Research and Development Committee will report all decisions to the Assistant Provost for Scholarship and Creative Activity.

Upon completion of the reassigned-time fellowship, the faculty member is expected to submit a report to the Assistant Provost for Scholarship and Creative Activity by September 15 of the current year for Spring Reassigned-Time Fellowships and the following September for Fall Reassigned-Time Fellowships. The report should address the following:

  • The research or development objectives accomplished during the period of the reassigned-time award
  • The refinements or changes, if any, to the original research or development plan
  • A description of how the reassigned-time project has influenced the teaching, mentoring, or future scholarship activities of the recipient

The publication of the results of research projects supported by a grant from the University should include a printed acknowledgment of financial assistance from the University.

Research, Development, and Advanced Study

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Faculty are encouraged to apply for money in this category if they are conducting research, working on a publication, pursuing professional development, working toward the completion of a dissertation, or engaged in additional study or course work at another graduate institution. Applicants should be aware that there is no guarantee that the amount of money requested, if accepted, will be funded at the level requested.

All full-time teaching faculty members are eligible to apply for assistance in their pursuit of scholarly research, publications, professional development, dissertation completion, advanced study, or course work at graduate institutions. All research activities involving human participants, whether funded or not, must conform to the current guidelines set forth in the document Ethical Principles and Review Procedures for Human Participants in Researchavailable from the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Applications for financial assistance should be made via the online form provided by the Faculty Research and Development Committee. Applications can be for financial assistance alone or in conjunction with a sabbatical, summer fellowship, released time fellowship, or Hultquist award. All applications for financial assistance related to research, development, and advanced study for the following academic year must be submitted on-line and both the chair and dean are notified of your application by the published November deadline (typically November 1st.)

The normal grant period is June 1st of each year to May 31st of the following year. Funds unused by a recipient by the end of the grant period will be returned to the general University fund. A request for a change in any part of the grant originally approved by the committee must receive prior approval from the Chair of the Faculty Research and Development Committee and notification in writing to the Associate Provost for Scholarship and Creative Activity.

A recipient of a research, development, and advanced study grant is expected to return to Elon University for at least one year. Recipients who fail to complete one year of full-time service at Elon University immediately following their grant will be required to repay the monies advanced them by the University unless the University terminates their employment.

At the conclusion of the grant period, the grant recipient must write a report addressing the following:

  • The research or development objectives accomplished during the period of the reassigned-time award
  • The refinements or changes, if any, to the original research or development plan
  • A description of how the reassigned-time project has influenced the teaching, mentoring, or future scholarship activities of the recipient

All applications for financial assistance must be accompanied by a detailed itemized budget. Applicants have the choice to accept or reject partial funding based on review of the itemized budget. Expenses may be reimbursed for:

  • Special equipment and materials, books, photocopies, film, and manuscripts for research. Large equipment expenses cannot usually be covered.
  • Statistical analysis, transcription, consultants
  • Communication costs
  • Travel and living expenses incurred away from home and pertinent to the project (with low priority given to travel expenses for coursework). Mileage, hotel costs, and other living expenses should be itemized.
  • Publication up to 50% of the requisite subsidy, but not to exceed $1,500, including cost of images
  • Tuition
  • Other purposes deemed by the Faculty Research and Development Committee to be necessary for the successful completion of the proposed project and compatible with the general policies of the University, but not to include payment to the faculty member for time spent in research

When possible, supplies, equipment, and clerical services are to be acquired through other University channels. The Committee will not approve the expenditure of its funds for materials or equipment which in its judgment should be supplied by the University through the departmental, Dean’s or library budgets.

Teaching faculty members desiring release from teaching responsibilities to conduct research or to develop projects are encouraged to refer to sections on sabbaticals and reassigned-time above.

All books, manuscripts, photocopies, films, and similar research materials purchased with funds from a grant approved by the Faculty Research and Development Committee become the property of Elon University and, upon completion of the project, are to be deposited in the library or other appropriate University repository. Textbooks required in course work will become the personal property of the grantee.

The publication of the results of research projects supported by a grant from the University should include a printed acknowledgment of financial assistance from the University.

Hultquist Fund Summer Fellowships

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Full-time faculty may apply for a Hultquist fund summer fellowship during their first year at Elon to be used in the summer between their first and second years of teaching. Awards include, but are not limited to, research, scholarship and writing, and course development, and are typically awarded as a stipend.