Faculty Development Leaves

Faculty Development Leaves are granted to principal faculty for one semester at full pay or two semesters at half pay. The number of these leaves awarded annually is based on: the need of the University to have a cohort of Principal Faculty, the availability of funds, and the quality of the requests. The Provost and Chief Academic Officer grants these leaves, based on the evaluation of the requests by the Faculty Development Committee.

The criteria used for evaluation are length of service and the quality of the proposed activities.

Eligible activities include

• improvement of teaching,
• research,
• scholarship with the goal of final publication,
• creative and inventive projects in the area of the arts -- such as drama, music, film, radio-television -- for faculty members for whom such undertakings are scholarly development,
• 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,
• and 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. Faculty pursuing external funding as part of their leave should be aware of the Fellowship Top-Up Stipend policy that may make these more financially viable.

In order to be eligible, the faculty member must have completed three years in a Principal Faculty position at Xavier University. A Faculty Development Leave (also including the Conway Fellowship and Jesuit Community Faculty Fellowship) is not granted to an individual faculty member more than once every four years, i.e., a faculty member  must have eight (8) semesters of full-time teaching (summers excluded) before they are again eligible to receive any other faculty development leave. A full-time teaching semester refers 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. Semesters on FMLA leave are considered a semester of full-time teaching.

Applications cannot be made for both Faculty Development Research Leaves and Summer Fellowship awards during the same academic year.  The summer fellowships do not affect a faculty member's subsequent eligibility for a faculty development leave. Recipients of faculty development leaves will generally be released from regular committee assignments for the period of the award.

You can view a list of recent recipients of faculty development leaves at Recent Internal Awards.

Proposal Guidelines

• Application Procedures
• Format for Application
• Role of the Faculty Development Committee
  
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APPLICATION PROCEDURES for FACULTY DEVELOPMENT LEAVES

1. To be considered, applications for faculty development leaves for the academic year 2025-26 cycle must be received by November 1, 2024. 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 Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives 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.  Proposals should be sent to  facultydevelopment@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. The time period of the leave requested must be indicated.
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 facultydevelopment@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  facultydevelopment@xavier.edu 

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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 in one pdf file that includes page numbers:

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).
   1. a detailed description of the objective:
   2. a thorough discussion of the scope of work planned;
   3. a statement of the significance/contribution of the project;
   4. a synopsis of any work or exploratory research on the project already completed;
   5. a statement of, and the justification for, the time requested;
   6. a summary description of any comparable projects completed by the applicant; and
   7. 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 Provost Office.
5. An abbreviated vita (no more than three pages, not included in the 5-page limit).
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. Letters and the evaluation form should be sent directly to the Chair of Faculty Development Committee at facultydevelopment@xavier.edu  At its discretion, the Faculty Development Committee may seek consultation with authorities in the applicant's academic field.

Faculty Development Leave Checklist

• Title page
• Detailed Description of the project addressing items 1-4 above (no more than 5 double-spaced, numbered pages including references)
• Appendices
  • Abbreviated (no more than 3 pages) CV
  • 2 letters of support
  • Chair/Dean Evaluation Form 

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 Provost Office at  facultydevelopment@xavier.edu  and to 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, links to or copies of outputs from the project, e.g., books, papers, etc.

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 the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Nursing, Professional Sciences, and the Williams College of Business.
2. The Faculty Development Committee reviews proposals utilizing the rubric linked below to guide assessment and committee discussions of each proposal. The committee makes recommendations for Faculty Development Leaves to the Associate Provost, 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 Faculty Development 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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