The university provides a variety of funds to support the professional development of its faculty. All Linfield faculty are encouraged to make themselves aware of and use these opportunities.

V.4.1               Faculty Professional Development Grants

The Office of Academic Affairs provides funding for faculty-initiated projects that enhance the scholarship, creative work, and teaching of the University. When recommending grant recipients, the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee will prioritize awards to faculty who have not received a Faculty Development Grant in the previous three years. If there are funds remaining after allocation to applicants who have not recently been funded, only then will any awards be made to recent recipients. Eligibility for Faculty Development Grants is determined within the academic units. During evaluation of faculty applications for these funds, the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee will prioritize projects in the following order:

1.) initiation, continuation, or completion of original scholarly or creative work, according to the applicant’s departmental definition of scholarship and professional development (this includes workshops and conferences at which attendance will enhance the ability of the applicant to conduct this work)

2.) course development or improvement

3.) support of January Term off-campus course development.

Grants will be modest in extent and may be used to start work that can be continued with external support. Funding ordinarily will not be provided for faculty salaries or stipends. Faculty may apply for a faculty development grant to cover the cost of a course release through adjunct staffing or to request a course release under existing departmental staffing. Applications for course releases will be evaluated on the same criteria as any other faculty development grant, as outlined above.

There are two funding rounds for Faculty Development Grants. The deadline for the fall round is the first Monday in October. The recipient must use the funds within 18 months of notification of the award. The deadline for the spring round is the first Monday in March. The recipient must use the funds within 18 months of notification of the award.

Note:  Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Post Grant Report

At the close of the grant period, the faculty member must submit an evaluation of grant activities to the relevant dean. This report will be used in three ways:

• the report will be forwarded to the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee for use in determining future funding requests,
• the report will become part of the faculty member’s personnel file, and
• the abstract of the report (see below) will be published in Linfield’s digital repository for both Linfield community and broader community review.

The report should include the following components (2 pages, maximum):

• A concise abstract of the results of the work. This one-to-two paragraph abstract will be published in the digital repository, forwarded to the relevant Faculty Development Committee, and included in the personnel file.

• Answers to the following questions. These answers will be forwarded to the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee and included in the faculty member’s personnel file:
  • How well were the objectives of the project met?
  • What impact will this project have on an advancement of knowledge in a discipline or interdisciplinary area, the applicant’s professional development, the education of Linfield students, and/or the Linfield community?
  • Any additional comments, such as: How could this committee or the various Linfield University offices be of more assistance in implementing supported projects in the future?

Special Note on Reimbursement for course work

Tuition reimbursement for terminal degree coursework required for promotion and tenure is not supported by these funds.

V.4.2               Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Grants

Linfield University awards funds allowing faculty and students to participate in collaborative research projects that contribute to a faculty member’s long-term professional development and to students’ development of skills in a specific academic field. Proposals should be submitted electronically to the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee for review and recommendation. Applications are due the first Monday of March. The allowed grant period runs from the first Monday after spring commencement to Dec. 31 of the calendar year in which the grant was awarded.

Although these proposals may take a variety of forms reflecting the diversity of Linfield’s academic community, they should conform to the general guidelines below:

• Grants may support a collaborative research project involving at least one Linfield faculty member and at least one student.
• Student(s) may not also receive academic credit for the same activity.
• Projects should relate to and benefit the faculty member’s long-term professional development and, where possible, serve as seed money for extra-institutional funding.
• Projects should have as a goal the collaborative production of knowledge and/or creative work that will be shared with the professional community through publication or presentation.
• Students should be actively involved in the process of the research and should collaborate with the faculty member for about ten weeks in the summer, logging a minimum of 100 hours per student and a maximum of 400 hours. However, if it can be sufficiently demonstrated that a deviation from this model is appropriate, the project will receive equal consideration. Housing for students working a minimum of 20 hours per week will be available at a reduced rate.
• A specific student(s) need not be identified at the time of grant application. Upon funding, the successful faculty applicant will recruit students and report this information to the relevant dean prior to initiation of the research. Only continuing Linfield undergraduate students are eligible.

Unused funding will be redistributed to the new round of the funding cycle.

The relevant Faculty Development Committees or Promotion and Tenure Committees  encourage faculty applicants to review the application checklist and seek feedback on their proposals from their divisional representatives to the subcommittee before submission of the final version of the proposal.

Post Grant Requirements

• By February 15 of the calendar year following the award notification, the faculty member must submit an evaluation of grant activities to the relevant dean. This report will be used in three ways:
• the report will be forwarded to the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committees for use in determining future funding requests,
  • the report will become part of the faculty member’s personnel file, and
  • the abstract of the report (see below) will be published in Linfield’s digital repository for both Linfield community and broader community review.

The report should include the following components (two pages, maximum):

• A concise abstract of the results of the work. This one-to-two paragraph abstract will be published in the digital repository, forwarded to the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committees, and included in the personnel file.

• Answers to the following questions. These answers will be forwarded to the relevant Faculty Development Committee and included in the faculty member’s personnel file:
  • How well were the objectives of the project met?
  • What impact will this project have on an advancement of knowledge in a discipline or interdisciplinary area, the applicant’s professional development, the education of Linfield students, and/or the Linfield community?
  • Any additional comments, such as: How could this committee or the various Linfield University offices be of more assistance in implementing supported projects in the future?

• Student collaborators are required to participate in the Linfield University Student Symposium held annually in the spring unless alternative options are approved by the relevant Faculty Development Committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee chair.

V.4.3               Travel Stipend for Trips Relevant for January Term Off-Campus Course Development

When the University budget allows, funds are available from the International Programs Office (IPO) for trips related to development of January Term off-campus courses. Modest sums available are intended to be used in conjunction with other sources of funding to support faculty who wish to travel domestically or abroad in order to facilitate preparation for a January Term off-campus course.

Interested faculty should send the IPO director a preliminary itinerary of their travel plans along with a brief description of the proposed course they wish to develop. There is no specific deadline for this travel stipend, which is awarded on a rolling basis. For more information contact the director of international programs.