Multicultural Faculty Development Support Funds

Funds are provided to support faculty development including conference travel expenses through the Office of Educational Equity.

Faculty behind podium Support for faculty development, including conference travel funds, typically rests with a faculty member’s academic unit. However, travel costs have been escalating and, at the same time, fiscal realities are placing greater constraints on the ability of academic units to provide adequate travel allocations.

Given this, Multicultural Faculty Development Support Funds serve as a supplemental resource, intended to complement funds provided by a faculty member's academic unit.

Guidelines for Development Support Funds

The Senior Faculty Mentor provides supportive services to tenure-track faculty members belonging to underrepresented racial/ethnic groups to facilitate the attainment of tenure and promotion. Additionally, support is provided to all faculty based on relevant academic subject matter.

Purpose

Initiatives include one-on-one consultations, including reviews of dossiers, regarding faculty members' professional progress; provision for supplemental funding for faculty members to participate in professional conferences, thus strengthening cases for tenure and promotion; and networking activities such as receptions, colloquia, and the maintenance of a listserv.

This faculty development support funding provided through the Office of Educational Equity is supplemental, i.e., it is intended to complement funds provided by a faculty member's academic unit. The principal responsibility for supporting faculty development, including funds to enable travel to professional conferences, resides with a faculty member's academic unit. However, increasing travel costs coupled with budget constraints limit the funds academic units can allocate to support faculty members' professional travel.

Guidelines

To be eligible for funding, the support form with all appropriate signatures must be received in the Office of Educational Equity at least two weeks prior to the conference. Reimbursement will only be provided if (a) a form with all appropriate signatures has been submitted and approved prior to conference attendance, (b) approval has been documented in a letter from the Senior Faulty Mentor, and (c) all standard travel documentation has been submitted.
The maximum amount of funding that can be allotted is $600.
The highest priority in the allocation of funds is given to requests where (a) a faculty member’s academic unit is assuming at least half of the anticipated costs of attendance and (b) the faculty member is making a presentation, and (c) the amount requested is small. Reimbursable expenses are limited to direct travel, room and board, and conference registration. The maximum amount of funding allowable is subject to reduction depending on the availability of resources. This policy is designed to allow support for the largest possible number of requests.
Faculty travel requests are limited to one per academic year. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Faculty development support funds approved by the Senior Faculty Mentor must be used in the current academic year (July 1 through June 30).
Faculty development support funds approved for a particular trip cannot be used for any other trip without the written approval of the Senior Faculty Mentor.
Faculty development support funds cannot be split between two trips.