Professional Development

A. LEAVES OF ABSENCE
Under special circumstances, faculty members may be granted a leave of absence without pay. Such leaves should be requested in writing by March 1. Requests for a leave without pay are submitted in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost through the department chair. A final decision on such leaves is made by the President upon recommendation from the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Personnel Committee in consultation with the department chair. If a leave without pay is granted, the department should normally be permitted to hire an unranked or extraordinary faculty member.

Such leaves must be mutually agreed to and shall ordinarily not be granted for longer than one year, although the College may grant an extended full-time or part-time leave without pay. Any leave beyond two years constitutes forfeiture of tenure and relieves the College of any obligation to hold the position for the individual on leave.

Time on such leave will not count toward tenure or promotion in rank and is not credited toward time in service for sabbatical leave unless the individual and the College so agree in writing prior to the beginning of the leave. However, faculty members will not forfeit their rank as a result of being on a leave without pay.

While an individual is on leave without pay, the College does not provide fringe benefits. Faculty members may continue their fringe benefits, however, by paying them personally through the College. Arrangements regarding salary increments should be negotiated in advance of the agreement for such a leave.

B. RESEARCH GRANTS
Funds are available for grants to the faculty to assist them with research expenses during the academic year. The grants are made by the President based on recommendations from the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Faculty Development Committee. Under exceptional circumstances, small grants may be made for advanced degree work. In general, however, small grants are intended specifically to support scholarly research after the completion of a terminal degree. Publication of results is not necessarily required, but a report on the use of the funds granted must be submitted to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost by October 1 following the grant. Application for these grants should be made to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost no later than September 15. The Charlton H. Lyons Research Award of $2,500 for a summer and ensuing academic year is also available. The deadline for the proposal is December 15.

C. FACULTY TRAVEL
The College encourages attendance and presentation of research at professional meetings as a vital means of keeping abreast of developments in the academic disciplines and provides funds, within the limits of its resources, to assist members of the faculty to meet reasonable expenses of travel to meetings. Funds for specific purposes (e.g. conferences at which a faculty member presents a paper or serves as an officer of a professional association) may be available from the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

D. RESEARCH AND EXCHANGE OPPORTUNITIES
The College is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS), together with Davidson College, Centre College, Furman University, Hendrix College, Millsaps College, Morehouse College, Rhodes College, Rollins College, Spelman College, Sewanee - University of the South, Southwestern University, Trinity University, Washington and Lee University, and the University of Richmond. Through this consortium, the College participates in a number of cooperative enterprises, including an annual Teaching and Learning Workshop geared toward new faculty but faculty at all levels of experience can attend; Leadership and Interest groups to share strategies and problem solve; Virtual workshops and reading groups organized around topics proposed by faculty at member institutions; and Academic leadership development through the Academic Leadership Fellows program, the New Department Chair program and the Student Life Leadership Academy. Centenary faculty have the opportunity to participate in the exchange program with the University of Aarhus, Denmark and the Aarhus School of Business. Centenary College is also a member of the Consortium of Louisiana Universities and Colleges of CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana). That consortium sponsors academic-year and summer-study programs at Paul Valery University in Montpellier, France. The College has developed a new agreement with the University of Lille in France, and additional ones are under consideration in other parts of the world.

E. SABBATICAL LEAVES
Purpose: to release full-time teaching faculty with tenure or at least six years of service to Centenary College for pursuit of a specific project whose goals are: production of an original contribution to scholarship via publication and/or original work(s) of art; enhancement of academic reputation of the College; enhancement of professional expertise through a program of scholarly reading or study; enlargement of and/or addition to intellectual and cultural development and/or instructional skills of faculty members.

Standards for Project: Standards of merit are the same as the above goals. A project need not satisfy all four goals, but the more goals that a particular project satisfies the greater its individual merits. In cases of relatively equal merit between projects, length of service to the College will be a criterion, with preference given to those who have not previously received a sabbatical leave. Work toward completion of a first terminal degree will not constitute an acceptable project.

Obligations: The recipient must return to Centenary College for at least one full academic year after the academic year in which sabbatical leave was taken. Recipient must turn in a written report to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost summarizing accomplishments during the sabbatical period. The recipient will also make a public presentation to the college community on some central aspect of the accomplishments achieved during the sabbatical.

Application: Specific project proposals must be submitted in writing to the chair of the Faculty Development Committee with supportive material, including the recommendation of the department chair, by November 1 prior to the academic year in which the sabbatical would commence. The department chair's recommendation shall include a statement outlining what the beneficial effects of the sabbatical would be on the operations of the department. Additionally, the department chair shall submit to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost a statement on how the department proposes to staff the absent faculty member’s courses.

Applicants who have had a sabbatical in the last six years will not be considered.

After consultation with the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the President of the College may veto the committee's recommendations but only for compelling financial and/or administrative reasons.

Salary and Benefits: Sabbatical leaves are for two semesters at half salary or one semester at full salary, but remuneration may not exceed the total amount in the annual budget for the sabbatical program. If a sabbatical is to be combined with a remunerative project, approval must be obtained in advance from the President.

The time spent on sabbatical leave is counted as time in service to the College on behalf of tenure, seniority, promotion, reviews, and salary increases.

Retirement premiums will be continued on the basis of full annual salary in effect at the beginning of leave.

Social Security will be deducted from the sabbatical salary with the College paying the appropriate amount.

Group Hospitalization and Disability Insurance will be continued with the College and faculty member both maintaining contributions to full coverage in effect at the start of the leave.