Student-Faculty Research Awards

 

Purpose

Student-Faculty research awards enhance the research and creative activity of our faculty and students. These awards will support student-faculty teams who will work together and support the entire range of academic, professional, or artistic fields to engage in research, writing, exhibition, or performance. This award shall not support efforts to attain an advanced degree.

 

Eligibility

Priority will be given to full-time faculty members who are in a continuing status with at least one year of teaching experience at the College. However, full-time faculty in their first year are also eligible.

 

Proposal

The Provost’s office will solicit proposals early in the fall semester. Proposal deadlines are as follows:

• October 1: Review begins for one Student-Faculty Research Awards and continues on a rolling basis until granted or until April 1, after which no further applications will be considered.
• February 1: Review begins for the remaining two Student-Faculty Research Awards and continues on a rolling basis until both awards are granted or until April 1, after which no further applications will be considered.

The faculty member is responsible for submitting a proposal to the Provost’s Office that will include the following:

1. Project description written in sufficient detail and in clear language so faculty colleagues in other disciplines might be able to read and evaluate it. The description should include a discussion of the background for the project, why it is important to do, and whether the project will lead to publication or, in the case of creative activities, to performance or exhibition. Generally, a few sentences or a paragraph is an insufficient indicator of scholarly preparation for a research project.
2. The faculty member will provide evidence of effective supervision of student research projects, which can include independent study projects and/or in-class research projects.
3. The proposal will provide a tentative budget including stipends for faculty and student researchers and justifying the supplies or travel requests.
4. The faculty member will provide the name(s) of the student who will work with the faculty, a one-page statement from the student outlining why he/she wishes to work with the faculty member on the project, as well as the academic adviser’s report for the student.
5. The faculty member will append an updated CV.
6. The faculty member will list other responsibilities s/he will have during the research project.
7. If a faculty member previously received one of these awards, he/she will indicate whether the project resulted in a presentation at a meeting, a publication or a performance. This information is important in evaluating subsequent awards.
8. Unsuccessful applicants for this award may be considered for a Faculty Research Award. To be considered for that award, the faculty member should indicate that they would like to be considered and include a paragraph of how the research project would change if awarded the smaller amount of funding without stipends.

 

Selection Criteria

Application is open to tenure track and non-tenure track faculty members. In the situation of competing proposals, the Faculty Development Committee will give preference to tenure track faculty who receive less than $2,500 of support funds from the College. Evaluation of proposals will consider the following questions:

1. Is the project description suitable for a faculty-student joint project?
2. Can substantial progress be made on the project during the research period?
3. Will the project make use of the student in a role as a true junior partner?
4. Is the proposal complete? Is the supply and/or travel budget appropriate for the project? Is the budget itemized?
5. Does the project have the potential to lead to a presentation at a regional or national professional meeting, publication in a refereed journal, or a significant performance?
6. Does the faculty member have a track record of successfully supervising student projects?
7. Will the faculty member’s other responsibilities adversely impact on contributions to the joint student-faculty project?
8. Will the student benefit from participation in the research program?

 

Award Details

Student-Faculty Research Awards are supported by the C. M. Hutchinson Family Professorships for Outstanding Scholarship, and faculty members who receive a Student-Faculty Research Award are named to one of six Hutchinson Family Professorships for the duration of the award period.

Suggested allocation of funds

1. Student stipends are set at $2,500 for approximately 10 weeks of full-time research work/creative activity or equivalent.
2. The maximum faculty stipend is $3,500 for approximately 10 weeks of full-time research/creative activity supervision or its equivalent.
3. The Faculty Development Committee will entertain itemized requests for supplies and transportation. If the funded request exceeds $1,000, the faculty member may choose to reduce the faculty compensation portion of the award in order to fund the excess. In no case may the sum of faculty stipend, supplies, and transportation exceed $4,500.

Other stipulations

1. All research proposals should include a timeline for completion of the project and expenditures of funds. To claim reimbursement, you must submit original receipts within 60 days of incurring the expense.
2. All the available funds will not necessarily be awarded each year. The total amount awarded will be based upon the funds available as well as the number of requests received and the merits of the proposals.
3. The Faculty Development Committee will attempt to distribute awards evenly to the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities divisions. However, if insufficient qualified proposals arrive from one division, the Committee may reallocate the awards to deserving applicants in another division.
4. The faculty member supervising the project is responsible for providing the provost with programs of conferences indicating where papers arising from the project were presented, programs of performances where the supported creative activity was conducted and copies of papers from journals where the supported work was published.

 

Duties

The Faculty Development Committee and the Provost will generate interest in the award, encourage faculty members to apply, review each proposal, and select the recipients. The President will confirm the selections.

 

Reporting Requirements

Awardees will submit a report (with detailed expenditure report) on the work accomplished by October 15 of the semester following the award. Failure to submit a research report in a timely fashion will adversely affect subsequent awards.