Faculty Development Leaves
Faculty Development Leaves are available to Principal Faculty with a minimum of three years in the tenure-track position at Xavier. (Tenure-track faculty may apply in the fall of their third tenure-track year.) These grants may be at full salary for one semester or at one-half salary for two semesters.
Applications cannot be made for both Faculty Development Leaves and Summer Fellowship awards during the same academic year. Recipients of faculty development leaves will generally be released from regular committee assignments for the period of the award.
Consistent with Xavier Faculty Handbook, recipients of any faculty development leave (including Jesuit Community Faculty Fellowship, Conway Fellowship) must have eight (8) semesters of full-time teaching (summers excluded) before they are again eligible to receive any other faculty development leave. For purposes of this discussion, a full-time teaching semester refers in the normal sense to a semester in which one's primary duties are teaching, research, and service, and can include semesters in which load reductions are granted for specific administrative or academic purposes, e.g. serving as department chair. A semester in which the faculty member is on FMLA leave is also considered a full-time teaching semester. The summer fellowships do not affect a faculty member's subsequent eligibility for a semester or year leave with pay.
Guidelines for Evaluating Proposals
Application Procedures
Format for Application
Role of the Faculty Development Committee
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DESCRIPTION OF FACULTY DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH LEAVES
In general, primary consideration will be given to projects that show promise of furthering the applicant's scholarly and professional development. Under this broad principle, a considerable variety of proposals -- including interdisciplinary and joint proposals -- will be acceptable for evaluation.1. The following are examples of projects that would merit consideration:
a. Scholarly research with the goal of final publication.
b. Creative and inventive projects in the area of the arts -- such as drama, music, film, radio-television -- for faculty members for whom such undertakings would be comparable to scholarly research.
c. Creative and inventive projects that involve the improvement of teaching either in terms of the content or in terms of methodology.
d. Advanced study in a specific area for the purpose of professional development, including the development of technical skills when such study is called for by recent developments in the applicant's field.
e. Other activities that are judged to impact the University positively through intellectual development of the faculty member.
Applicants are encouraged to pursue their studies and research at institutions that are particularly distinguished for their programs in the applicant's academic field.
2. Per the Faculty Handbook (Section XV.B), "the criteria used for evaluation are length of service and the quality of the proposed activities." The primary emphasis is on the quality of the proposal.
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APPLICATION PROCEDURES for FACULTY DEVELOPMENT LEAVES
1. To be considered, applications for faculty development leaves for the academic year 2023-2024 cycle must be received by Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The required letters of support/reference from the applicant's department chair and proposal reviewers must also be received by this date. To ensure consideration all application materials must be received by the deadline. It is the applicant's responsibility to see that the application and all supporting materials are submitted on time. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants may check with the office of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs to learn of one's application completion status, prior to the due date.
2. Applications should be addressed to the Chair of the Faculty Development Committee, in care of the office of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. An electronic copy of your proposal should be sent to janzen@xavier.edu by the due date.
3. At the time a faculty member presents a proposal to the Faculty Development Committee, a copy must be submitted to the department chair and the dean.
4. Information as to the time period in which the faculty member is requesting leave must be included.
5. If the applicant is a faculty member serving within a department or program, the department chair or program director must submit a completed evaluation form. This should be submitted electronically to janzen@xavier.edu.
6. If the applicant is a Department Chair or the head of a program, they must submit a completed evaluation form from their Dean. Self-recommendations will not be accepted. Deans are encouraged to consult with a senior member of the faculty in the Chair's department if they have questions related to the research activities proposed in the application. The completed form should be submitted electronically to janzen@xavier.edu.
FORMAT FOR APPLICATION for FACULTY DEVELOPMENT LEAVES
The application for a faculty development leave or summer fellowship must include, and be limited to, the following:
1. A title page including title, applicant's name, rank, department, length of service as a member of the Principal Faculty, dates of any previous faculty development leaves and summer fellowships, and a brief description of the project and its goal (abstract). Applicants should also include a listing of other funding available or for which they will be applying for the award time period.
2. Proposals for faculty development leaves should state the semester (s) for which the leave is requested.
3. A detailed description of the project, including the following sections (limit of five (5) double-spaced pages including bibliography).
a. a detailed description of the objective:
b. a thorough discussion of the scope of work planned;
c. a statement of the significance/contribution of the project;
d. a synopsis of any work or exploratory research on the project already completed;
e. a statement of, and the justification for, the time requested;
f. a summary description of any comparable projects completed by the applicant; and
g. if applicable, a statement on expectations concerning when and where the project may be published, performed or exhibited.
4. If applicable, a brief description of previous Xavier-funded faculty development awards received. This description must include the project title, type of award, dates granted, and short project description. For each award described, indicate the scholarly outcomes achieved. For each previous faculty development leave, also include a copy of the Project Report filed with the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.
5. An abbreviated vita (no more than three pages).
6. The applicant must solicit two letters of support/reference from referees in the same field (from Xavier or elsewhere), and an evaluation form from the applicant's chair or dean. (Form attached.) Letters and the evaluation form should be sent directly to the Chair of Faculty Development Committee in care of Rashmi Assudani, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (ML 4542). Letters may be submitted electronically to janzen@xavier.edu. At its discretion, the Faculty Development Committee may seek consultation with authorities in the applicant's academic field.
7. Please remember to include page numbers.
Project Report
Within two months after the end of the leave or fellowship, the faculty member must submit a project report to the office of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (ML 4542 or janzen@xavier.edu) and the faculty member's department chair and dean. This report must include:1. A detailed summary of the work completed on the project, including statements regarding which goals of the original proposal were met and which were not.
2. In cases in which the work as originally proposed was not completed, the faculty member must address this in the report stating the reasons the project was changed.
3. If applicable, copies of any output(s) from the project, e.g., books, papers, etc., should be submitted to the Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.
4. This report will be available to the Faculty Development Committee. The results of prior faculty development leave(s) or fellowship(s) will be used in evaluating future proposals by the faculty member. It is the faculty member?s responsibility to deliver these reports in a timely fashion.
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ROLE OF THE FACULTY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
1. The Faculty Development Committee consists of five Principal Faculty representing all three colleges.
2. The Faculty Development Committee reviews proposals utilizing the following rubric to guide assessment and committee discussions of each proposal. The committee makes recommendations for Sabbatical Leaves to the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, who will forward the committee's recommendations, along with his/her own, to the Provost and CAO. The Provost and Chief Academic Officer has the final voice in approving projects. The faculty development committee and faculty committee will be informed of the recipients of the awards. Evaluation Rubric for Sabbatical Leaves
3. Faculty Development Committee members applying for a Faculty Development Award (e.g. Wheeler, Summer Fellowship, or leave), must recuse themselves from ALL discussions pertaining to that award category.
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