Faculty Development

     Conference Travel 

All members of the Faculty are eligible for reimbursement of expenses for presenting at professional meetings in their field. The amount of reimbursement will depend on the nature of the participation in the conference. See guidelines for funding eligibility and details regarding reimbursement.  (As an active participant - see guidelines for definition - you can request additional funding beyond $1,000. Modest funding is available for conference attendance without presentation.)

The Dean’s Office, in collaboration with the Faculty Development Committee, reviews travel requests twice per year. To facilitate budget planning for the year, we ask that all faculty make requests by October 15. We recognize that some opportunities may arise later than that and that plans may change, so the college will continue to honor requests for the base travel support (up to $1000) up to a February 1 deadline. If a request is not made by February 1 for travel in that fiscal year, the base travel funds will not be guaranteed. If you plan to use more than your allocated $1,000, please indicate your need for additional funding. A maximum of $1,500 may be available upon request. Petitions for travel reimbursements exceeding $1,500 must go directly to the Dean and will only be considered in the case of exceptional requests if there is additional funding available. Funding for international conferences will be only in rare instances, in the event that participation is essential to the faculty member’s development. Please submit your request and estimated expenses here. 

When requesting reimbursement, please complete and submit the Travel and Entertainment Form, which is located on the Business Office website, along with your receipts. Currently, these items must be submitted in paper form to the Dean’s Office for processing. To facilitate budget planning, please submit within 90 days. 

The last step after conference attendance is filling out the Faculty Good News form which can be found here.

      Sabbaticals

Sabbatical leaves allow faculty members to engage in scholarly activity that will contribute to their long-term effectiveness as teachers and scholars at Ursinus and in the academic profession. Typically, tenured faculty members are initially eligible in their seventh year of full-time service at Ursinus to submit an application for sabbatical leave. Please see the Faculty Handbook for more details. The Office of the Dean will send yearly announcement of application deadlines.  Submit an application.

      Small Research Grants

These grants defray a portion of specific costs relating to research. Eligible costs include travel to research libraries or facilities, instrumentation, computer software, lab supplies, and other direct expenses. The maximum grant will be for $1,000 during an academic year. These funds are designated for faculty members who are not funded elsewhere, either internally or externally. Small Research Grants cannot be used to supplement other College funding or be combined with funding for conference travel. Application deadline:  September 1, February 1, and April 1 Submit an application.

Pearlstine Faculty Fellowship

The Pearlstine Fellowship is a fund to advance the  scholarly agenda of faculty, including the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The first priority in selecting Fellows will be tenured faculty. Support will be available for course releases and for research expenses, be they travel and support, supplies, or student research assistance. The Pearlstine award may also be used to supplement external grants for research in order to make a leave possible. Selection will be based on the applicants’ proposal, the promise of completing the project and how the project relates to their three-year professional plan.  If a course release is requested, please explain why teaching relief during the academic year is necessary to the completion of the project. The Pearlstine Fellowship could be linked to a sabbatical, used to launch a new scholarly undertaking, or used to complete an existing project. Priority will be given to completion of existing projects. Pearlstine funds may not be used to defray living expenses while away from campus. 

If funds remain, proposals from untenured faculty will be considered.

Preference will be given to first-time recipients. Feedback is available on request.

In your proposal, please indicate how Pearlstine support will enhance your teaching as well as your scholarship. Pearlstine Fellows are expected to give a presentation in the format of their choice as well as a progress report to Faculty Development. 

The operation of the Fellowship program will undergo periodic reviews, and, if adjustments are recommended, they will be undertaken in consultation with the Dean and the President. Application deadline:  February 1.  Submit an application.

      Staiger Grants

The Roger P. Staiger Faculty Development Fund in Chemistry provides funding for the grant. One grant will be awarded each year to a faculty member in chemistry.  Application deadline: September 1. Submit an application.

      Student Research Assistantships in the              Humanities

These grants fund students in the humanities division who assist a faculty member in their scholarship, providing an opportunity for students to share in the scholarly work of professors. Grants of up to $500 per project are available to pay student assistants.  Application deadlines: September 1, February 1 and April 1.  Submit an application.

     Summer Grants Program

1. Workshops/Training Grant:  Two competitive grants annually for faculty to attend workshops or training to advance and enhance their pedagogy within their discipline or to develop expertise in a new sub-field within their discipline.  These grants are for up to $2000/each.  They may not be combined with any other college-sponsored travel grants and are not designed for faculty members to attend conferences in their fields.  Application deadline: February 15.  Submit an application.

2. Supplies and Support Grants support faculty members needing supplies, materials or those with other needs to conduct their summer research or creative projects. Grants must be used to support direct expenses. Some examples: lab supplies; art supplies; specialized software; data sets, analysis, or processing; international or domestic travel for research purposes; professional services (e.g. editors, translators). Include an itemized budget. Funding may not be used to support conference travel. Application deadline: February 15. Submit an application.

      VanSant Research Grants

The fund generates funds for small awards on a competitive basis to faculty to support laboratory research projects in which both faculty and students participate. Funds may be used for the purchase of capital equipment, chemicals and general supplies.  Application deadline:  May 1.  Submit an application. 

Additional Opportunities

There are also a number of other sources to support your work, including collaborations among faculty, staff and students. The president’s office sponsors Inclusive Community Grants and Fellowships; the college’s Mellon grant supports course development related to the new Core (see Dean’s Office Resources on Grizzly Gateway Dean’s Office; UC login required), and the NetVUE and Harold C. Smith grants support new course development related to vocational discernment, among other opportunities. Watch your email for calls for proposals from the TLI and U-Imagine, including grants for pedagogical innovation and entrepreneurship. Support for digital studies is available from the Cutler Fellows fund. The Center for Writing and Speaking offers write-in hours during the school year and summer writing accountability groups. For more information on informal writing groups, please contact the Dean’s Office.