Welcome to AY20-21! As previously announced, for this academic year the maximum amount for a Faculty Award (including supplemental conference awards) will be $1,500. As an exception, Assistant Professors who are not standing for tenure this fall will remain eligible for up to a $3,000 Faculty Award to support their continuing academic development. Please also note that due to COVID-19 concerns, the current travel policy stipulates that there will be no College-sponsored travel at this time and until further notice. Therefore, "travel" grants may only be used to support participation at in-state conferences (limited to 25 or fewer people) or registration fees for virtual conferences. These changes are consistent with other COVID-19 related safety and cost containment measures being made by the College at this time.
President's designee: Liz Demski
Provost and Dean of the College designee: Aimee Huff
Vice President for Finance and Administration or designee: Piper Orton
Faculty:
Baafra Abeberese 19-22 (B)
Stephen Biller 19-22 (C)
Venita Datta 18-21 (A), Chair
Kate Grandjean 20-23 (B)
Claudia Joskowicz 20-23 (A)
Heather Mattila 18-19 & 20-22 (C)
I. Types of Awards Available
General Grants to Support Scholarly Activities
General Grants are designed to encourage research and other scholarly work which may include supplemental conference or other scholarly travel by eligible individuals. 2019-20 application deadlines are: Monday, September 21, 2020; Monday, November 9, 2020; Monday, February 8, 2021; and Monday, April 12, 2021. These deadlines must be strictly observed so that Committee members will have time to review applications before meeting. Extensions will not be granted. For AY20-21, and for all eligible categories, with the exception of Assistant Professors not standing for tenure in the Fall, funds are limited to $1,500. For Assistant Professors not standing for tenure in the Fall, funds are limited to $3,000. The Committee may grant partial awards.
Other Grants
- Special Dissertation Grants
Special College funds are available to assist faculty in covering expenses connected with doctoral dissertations, and will be awarded retroactively. Applications will be due on the same dates as General Grants and must follow same application format. Tuition expenses are not covered.
- Davis Awards
The College's Davis Fund for Russian Area Studies has set aside a modest sum of money to help support faculty research in the field. Funds may be used to pay for research expenses relating to projects concerning Russia and/or other territories of the former Soviet Union. The applications should follow the same guidelines as Faculty Awards, but should specify "Davis Fund" in the application. Applicants are not required to be in Russian/Russian Area Studies. Applicants may apply for both the maximum $1,500 in Davis monies plus the maximum from Faculty Awards. These applications will be considered during any of the Faculty Award application rounds.
- Luce Moore Awards
The College's Elisabeth Luce Moore Fund supports individual faculty awards related to world religions. Applicants from the Department of Religion may apply for both a Luce Moore Award of $1,500 and the maximum from other faculty awards. Faculty members in other departments may apply for a Luce Moore Award in lieu of other faculty awards. Funds may be used to pay for research expenses relating to projects concerning world religions, including research assistant funding and travel expenditures. The applications should follow the same guidelines as Faculty Awards, but should specify "Luce Moore Fund" in the application.
- Open Access Awards
Open Access award applications are reviewed by the Faculty Awards Committee and administered by LTS. Please use the online application form and select “C. Other” as the type of application and “Open Access” in the dropdown menu.
II. Research Award Guidelines
A. Eligibility
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Category |
Eligibility |
|
Tenured or Tenure Track |
Eligible during active service and paid leaves |
|
Unpaid Leave Faculty in the Ranks |
Ineligible |
|
Half-time or Greater in the Ranks (e.g., Visiting Lecturers, Lecturers, Sr. Lecturers) |
Eligible |
|
Emeriti |
Eligible |
|
PERA |
PERA Faculty are ONLY eligible for professional development funding directly from the PERA department |
|
ISL |
ISL Faculty must receive approval from their department chair prior to applying for a Faculty Award |
|
Other Faculty |
Ineligible |
|
Mellon Post-Doc |
Eligible |
B. General Guidelines
- Awards are intended to encourage research and other scholarly activities, but not to finance ongoing projects indefinitely. Applicants will be expected to investigate all possible sources for funds (including start-up accounts). A brief report on the result of faculty awards received in the past five years must be included on the application for a new grant or the new grant will not be awarded. Grants will not be made to support activities that postdate the faculty member's termination date at the college (with the exception of grants made to emeriti/ae faculty).
- Applications for the charges for publication up to $1,500 (3,000 for Assistant Professors) will be considered only with a copy of the publisher's request for such funding from the College. Page charges for articles are fully fundable up to the $1,500 (3,000 for Assistant Professors) limit. No grants will be made for reprints. Applications for subvention of publication costs should be made before publication. If a project assisted by a grant results in publication, the author should acknowledge support provided by the College and reimburse the College up to the amount of support should royalties from publication exceed $6,000.
- Books purchased with funds from awards revert to the Margaret Clapp Library when the individual leaves the College. Equipment and computer software purchases become the property of the College, earmarked for the individual's use while at the College during the time the project continues. Copies of materials belong to the individual. Books and journals for one's personal library may not be purchased. In order to receive reimbursement from the College for purchases made with funds from an award, original receipts must accompany the check request.
- When the sums applied for exceed the funds available for making awards, the Committee will attempt to give preference to those who have not previously received such grants. Standard conference travel and special dissertation grants are awarded retroactively. Ordinarily no retroactive awards are made for scholarly research.
- Faculty awards may not be used to fund tuition or college courses or to purchase computer hardware.
III. Application Procedure
A. Research Awards
- Type of Award
Please select the type of award you are applying for from the options.
- About the Project & the Applicant
Please give applicant name, title, department, rank, years at Wellesley and please indicate if you have applied for an award before or not—if you have received funding for this project please note number of years. Provide a description of the results of every award (excluding conference travel) funded by the Committee on Faculty Awards in the last five years, including year awarded, amount awarded, and project title. Please list any publications from recent faculty awards. Applications that do not contain this information will not be considered. Please list your current project title.
- Additional Information (Files)
- Vita: Attach a brief vita no more than 2 pages in length, including graduate degrees, postgraduate awards (with dates) and recent publications (last 5 years).
- Project Description: Please upload a specific and succinct project description between 500 and 1000 words. Include a statement of your objectives, procedures, and estimated time schedule. Explain clearly and specifically how the award will help you realize the objectives of your project. Be specific about what you expect to accomplish during the award period, and your estimate of the total time required. Remember that your application may be read by scholars who do not have your specialized background and knowledge. If this is a joint project, give names and addresses of collaborators, the sources of their funding (if any) and joint efforts (if any) to obtain other funding. Give full citations of any papers related to this project that you have delivered at professional meetings or have published.
- Funding Sources: If you have applied elsewhere for funds, explain. If you have not, please consider doing so.
- Optional Information: Please upload any additional files that might support your application.
B. Supplementary Conference Awards
Faculty anticipating conference expenses in excess of $1,000 should apply for a Supplemental Conference Award (following the application guidelines and deadlines). College funding for conference travel has been suspended for the 2020-21 academic year.
a. Apply as for a research award.
b. Specify the dates of travel and conference.
You will be asked for clarification for an award application that does not meet the Guidelines for Faculty Awards. If there is insufficient time for the Committee to review and vote on the application, you will be asked to resubmit it.
Reference Guide for Common Expenses
|
Transportation Expenses |
The College has suspended reimbursement of travel expenses during 2020-21. |
|
Accommodations and Meals |
Please refer to the College's Travel Policy. |
|
Typing & Indexing Manuscripts |
Grants to pay the expense of typing and indexing manuscripts will be awarded only after the manuscript has been completed and copies of receipts submitted. If an individual, rather than a company, provides the typing service, payment will be made through payroll unless the individual is in business as an independent contractor. In order to be paid through payroll the Controller requires a completed I-9 (immigration form) and a W-4 (tax withholding form). For payment by check request, a completed form verifying independent contractor status must be submitted to the Controller's Office before any checks can be issued. Forms are available on the Controller's Office website. |
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Copying |
If more than three copies will be made of materials explain why. |
|
Summer Research - Child Care
|
Where documented need exists for child care to allow time for research, some expenses may be reimbursed using the following guidelines:
|
|
Student Research Assistants |
In the event you wish to pay a student research assistant, the student you hire needs to be set up with the Student Employment Office via the Office of the Provost and Dean of the College. Hourly rates for students and the current minimum wage can be found here. If special research needs cannot be met by student research assistants, the Committee will consider requests for more specialized assistance at higher hourly wages. |
|
Equipment |
List details for equipment and supplies, using actual catalog or suppliers' quotations or data from the College Purchasing Office. Also consider whether equipment can be fabricated by the College technical staff at a lower cost? Is it available already through another source at the College?
Computers: While computer purchases will not be funded, applications for software will be considered. |
IV. Payment of Funds
A. Research Awards
Payment of a research award is made upon submission of the completed reimbursement request through the Workday system. It is your responsibility to be sure that the grant (award account) is not over-expended. Should over-expenditure occur, it will be your responsibility to reimburse the College.
B. Supplementary Conference Awards
Payment is made upon submission of the completed reimbursement request through the Workday system.
V. Additional Available Entitlements
A. Widener Library Grants
Widener grants are available to all faculty eligible for faculty awards. There is no deadline for this entitlement. Please use the Faculty Awards Application and select “Create New Widener Library Grant Submission” in the top table, a check made out to the Harvard College Library will be issued to the faculty member.
B. Annual Conference Travel Funds
Conference travel funds do not require a formal application process and are awarded retroactively. Each eligible faculty member will start AY20-21 with $1,000 available in their Conference Travel “bank.” Normally, this funding can be spent on travel and living expenses incurred during attendance at scholarly meetings. In 2020-21, however, all College funding for travel has been suspended. Expenses may be paid for on a College Travel Card or by the faculty member. All reimbursements will be processed through the Workday platform (for assistance with Workday Finance transactions, please see the Controller's Office schedule for drop-in hours: https://www.wellesley.edu/controller). Conference travel funds will NOT accumulate from year to year. Any remaining balance at the end of the fiscal year will be swept and it will be replenished with the full amount (currently set at $1,000, subject to an annual review) at the beginning of the next fiscal year.
In prior years, faculty could plan in advance for conference travel in excess of the annual amount provided for the following year by requesting to carry over funds from the current year. However, given the current travel policy and financial considerations, the carry over provision for AY20-21 has not yet been determined.