Category Archives: Professional Development

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

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 Guidelines and procedures for 2013-14

 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 2013-2014 is Monday, February 25, 2013.  A form is enclosed with this message.  Applications should be sent to the office of the Dean of Curriculum and Faculty Development (c/o Lynn Dunton).

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 Curriculum and Faculty Development 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.

Bob Cluss
Dean of Curriculum and Faculty Development

LPDF application form revised 1-21-13

CMRS Research Opportunity in UK

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MEMO
From:   Jim Ralph
Date:    February 20, 2012

Re:      CMRS Professional Development Opportunity

Dear Colleagues,

This is to let you know about a professional development opportunity in the United Kingdom that will be specially funded by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.

For the past year, Middlebury College has headed a college consortium (including Bates, Smith, Wellesley, Colgate, Carleton and 11 other institutions) that sends American undergraduates to study during their junior year at the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS) in Oxford.  CMRS is affiliated with Keble College, Oxford, and contains a small research library as well as seminar rooms and a dormitory.  During the summer months, CMRS offers programs for faculty members and graduate students from the consortium colleges and universities.

This summer, from July 3-7, CMRS will host an interactive seminar on “Rhetoric in the 21st Century.”  It will be co-chaired by James J. Murphy, Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric, University of California, Davis, and Dr. Nicholas Crowe, Senior Dean of CMRS.  The speakers will include Sir Brian Vickers, FBA, Senior Fellow, School of Advanced Study, University of London; Peter Mack, Director, Warburg Institute, and Professor of English, Warwick University; and Professor Jennifer Richards, Head of School and Professor of English, Newcastle University.  The fee for attendance at the seminar is £600 (about $900), which includes daily breakfast and lunch, opening dinner, closing lunch, and accommodation at CMRS.  Details can be found at http://www.cmrs.org.uk/research/rhetoric-in-the-twenty-first-century-summer-2012.

Because of Middlebury’s ties with CMRS, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty will reimburse the £600 fee for any faculty member who wishes to attend the seminar.  This reimbursement will not count against each faculty member’s professional development funds.  Air-fare and other costs of transportation, however, will have to be requested from normal professional development funds.

This would be a good opportunity for you, not only to attend an academic seminar that might be of interest, but also to carry out research in the United Kingdom.  The fact that the Olympic Games begin in London on July 27 may also attract your attention to this offer!

Please note that the number of participants in the seminar is limited to 20, and you will have to apply for a place.  The application form can be found at www.cmrs.org.uk/research/C21stRhetoricApplication.doc.  If you have further questions about the seminar or CMRS, you can address them to Nicholas Crowe at ncrowe@cmrs.org.uk, or to Paul Monod in the History department, who represents Middlebury College on the consortium board.