Dean's Faculty Support Fund

Purpose

The primary goal of the Dean’s Faculty Support Fund is to promote faculty scholarship and professional activity at all levels of expertise in their efforts to develop as teachers and scholars. Faculty members are invited to submit mini-grant proposals intended to promote and facilitate professional development and innovations in teaching and scholarship. Funded activities are intended to support the mission and strategic goals of the university, college and department.

Deadline

Applications will be considered twice annually:

Spring Grant Application Deadline: November 1^st (Grant period January through August)

Fall Grant Application Deadline: April 1^st (Grant period is May through December)

Eligibility

Must be tenured or tenure track faculty

Funding

Approximately $15,000 is currently available with no guarantee of additional funds being added once this amount is dispersed. Though there is no set limit to the amount requested, proposals in the amount of $500 to $700 (or less) are encouraged.

Guidelines

· Funds are available to support the following:

o Attendance by a faculty member at a workshop, institute, internship, residency, course of study or related activity that will enhance instruction and/or develop pedagogical skills

o Attendance at a conference to present results of funded projects/activities and/or the scholarship of teaching and learning

o Costs to bring in guest faculty, speakers or other experts to enhance teaching and scholarship

o Supplies, instrumentation or apparatus to support effective, innovative instruction and/ or enhance the learning environment for students

· Application Packet must include:

o Completed Proposal that explains the purpose, expected results, itemized budget and the relationship of the proposal to the work of the faculty member and the College

o 2-page curriculum vita.

A final report summarizing the outcomes of the proposal with a completed budget detailing how the funds were used must be submitted to the Review Committee within one month of the end of the grant period

Spring Grant – Report due October 1^st (Grant period January through August)
Fall Grant – Report due February 1^st (Grant period May through December)

The Review Committee reserves the right to accept or deny applications based on availability of funds.
Report of expenses must follow Louisiana’s Travel and Purchasing Policies to be reimbursed. To learn more about this go to ULM’s controller’s office website at http://www.ulm.edu/controller/policies.htm. Please read carefully.
Send completed Application Packet to Cynthia Rodriguez, crodriguez@ulm.edu

Evaluation of Proposals

The following criteria will be considered by the committee when evaluating Mini-Grant Proposals:

The merit of the proposal and its value to the faculty member, the college and the university
The qualifications of the faculty member
Quality of the proposal - should be directed to general audience; provide clear description, clarify terminology
Realistic budget – Will the funds requested be sufficient to meet the goals of the proposal
The mini grant requested must have a clear and direct connection to the faculty member’s professional development and to his work at the University
Other sources of funding including both internal and external (endowed professorship, grant, etc.)