Dear Colleagues,

I invite you to consider applying for a Whiting Foundation fellowship.  These fellowships are available to present (and prospective) teachers (emphasis on college and university level) to enable them to study abroad or at some location other than the home institution … with the aim “to stimulate and broaden the minds of teachers so as to improve and enhance the quality of their instruction”.  Most grants are for travel and related expenses with an average grant of about $5,500.     

The Whiting Foundation has indicated a preference for proposals that have been reviewed by the submitting institution, so I will convene an internal review process to make recommendations for which proposals will be authorized for submission.  The goals of this process are to ensure that all submissions from Middlebury are a good fit with the Foundation’s mission and are well written proposals.  The review committee will also take into consideration the fact that the Foundation historically has made fewer than 25 awards each year.

The Whiting Foundation invitation is attached, along with lists of grants funded in the past few years.

If you wish to apply for a Whiting fellowship, please submit the following materials by Thursday, December 6^th  to Lynn Dunton via email (combined into one document):

• draft proposal (study the Whiting materials and recognize that the Middlebury review committee is assessing the overall quality of the proposal, not just your ideas)
• draft budget and justification
•  CV

Although not required for the internal review process, you may want to begin thinking about the three required supporting letters.  One of the letters must be from your department or program chair; in situations where that does not seem appropriate, I will invite one of your senior colleagues to write the letter.

Note: This year the actual Whiting deadline is January 25^th .  All applicants will be notified by December 20 and those authorized to submit proposals will then be able to contact their references and polish their proposals.  A “blue sheet” (internal endorsement form) will be necessary because the funds are disbursed through the College.  This can be done in January and the Sponsored Research Office will work with those selected to facilitate the process.

Feel free to contact the Sponsored Research Office staff (Franci Farnsworth and Alison Darrow) with any questions or for advice about Whiting proposals and grantwriting. Contact Franci if you want to make an appointment to read successful Whiting proposals from prior years.

Bob

Robert G. Cluss

Dean Curriculum and Faculty Development

Old Chapel 108

802-443-5025

2013 Whiting Application Letter

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To: All Faculty

From: Jim Ralph, Dean of the Faculty

Date: March 20, 2012

SUBJECT: ADA HOWE KENT FACULTY GRANTS

I am pleased to announce that this year we are once again able to invite proposals for Ada Howe Kent grants. These grants offer funds (this year the range will be between $1,500 and $3,000) to faculty who are developing unusually ambitious new courses, exploring new curricular approaches, or are pursuing research or creative projects that would benefit from such support. This initiative was made possible by the Ada Howe Kent Foundation.

Eligibility for Ada Howe Kent grants extends to all faculty members.

Ada Howe Kent grants are normally not awarded for projects that faculty are pursuing on academic leave.

Ada Howe Kent funds must be used between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013.

The competition is open to proposals of any kind. You may seek funds for any especially promising project in research, artistic production, or curricular innovation that can benefit from financial support. (If you propose to use your grant for new course development, it is expected that you will repeat the course, so that it can establish itself as a new enrichment of the curriculum).

Priority in awarding funds will be given to applicants who have already sought support from other sources, or to worthy projects unlikely to be funded from more conventional sources. Information on other funding sources is available in the Office of the Coordinator of Sponsored Research at the Library. We will also take into account applicants’ past support from this fund.

Faculty with projects that involve community outreach should consider applying for a Service Learning grant from the Alliance for Civic Engagement. http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/resources/ace/servicelearning/aoegrants

Applicants for an Ada Howe Kent grant should provide a current CV, a brief summary of the project for which support is sought, together with a calendar and detailed budget. Please send the information to Lynn Dunton, Old Chapel 105.

The deadline for applications is Monday, April 16th. Applicants will be notified of decisions by the end of April.

For further information, please contact me (ext. 5908) or Lynn Dunton (ext. 3085).

MEMO

From:   Jim Ralph

Date:    February 15, 2012

Re:      Long-term Professional Development Fund (LPDF) for Tenured Faculty

Guidelines and procedures for 2012-13

Dear Colleagues,

This is an invitation to apply for funding under the Long-term Professional Development Fund. This program was developed to complement the yearly faculty professional development fund (FPDF).  Tenured colleagues who need multiple-year funding for their long-term research and course development projects (current or future), should consider applying.

The goal of this fund is to encourage innovative and significant professional development opportunities. It supports travel, research assistance, computer equipment, training in technology, and taking courses.

Eligibility:

All tenured faculty, including those on regular leave, are eligible to apply to LPDF. Colleagues who have received funds from endowed chairs or enrichment funds from other College sources, will not be eligible for LPDF.  LPDF grants are considered to be once-in-a-career awards, so applications from previous recipients will have low priority.  During the time that you have LPDF funding you are still eligible for FPDF for travel unrelated to this project.

Application Procedures and Deadline:

The deadline for LPDF applications for projects beginning in fiscal year 2012-2013 is Monday, March 12, 2012.  A form is enclosed with this message.  Applications should be sent to the office of the Dean of the Faculty (c/o Lynn Dunton). LPDF application form revised 2-6-12

Project Duration and Funding:

The duration of an LPDF project should be in the range of 3 to 5 years, with a total project cost in the neighborhood of $4,500 to $13,000.  If you receive enrichment funds during the period of your LPDF grant, you will be asked to relinquish your LPDF funding.

Reporting:

To follow the progress of each project and to determine whether any changes should be made to the terms and needs of the project, recipients will be expected to submit an annual update each June.  The summary (no longer than one page) will be used to approve the continuation of the grant for the following fiscal year.  A meeting will be scheduled with the Dean of the Faculty if the project has changed significantly from the original proposal.

I anticipate that LPDF will serve your needs well, and I look forward to receiving proposals from many of you.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.