Key Contacts

For questions about the CLAS process, please contact the Assistant to the Associate Dean for Research.

Applicability

Tenured faculty members; clinical-track faculty may also apply.

Policy Purpose and Description

The College administers the Professional Development Awards program for tenured and clinical-track faculty, using criteria defined by the Office of the Provost. The program releases faculty members from classroom teaching, undergraduate advising, and administrative and service obligations for one semester at full salary or two semesters at half salary. During this time, the faculty member is engaged on a specific scholarly, artistic, or innovative instructional project supported by the assignment.

Eligibility

A full-time tenure-track or clinical-track faculty member must have completed at least 10 semesters of full-time service at the University since their previous developmental award to be eligible for a subsequent award. (For part-time faculty calculations, please see here.)

Faculty who receive a stipend and/or fringe benefit supplement to accept a prestigious research fellowship are eligible to apply for a subsequent PDA after a minimum period of full-time service following the fellowship year. Normally, this period is 4 semesters of full-time service for a one-year fellowship.

The College will not approve a PDA application submitted by a probationary tenure-track faculty member, nor will it approve an application for an award to be taken by a faculty member while on phased retirement.

PDAs for tenure-track and clinical-track faculty with academic year (i.e., nine-month) appointments normally support faculty development projects for one semester at full salary.

Award Criteria

The Provost’s website publishes criteria for evaluating proposals for these competitive awards.

Definitions

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Procedure

The Provost’s website has procedures for applying and for selection. Please Note: The Provost Portal has moved to the new Faculty Admin Center that recently launched. Instructions for the PDA application process are at this link. The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences follows the timeline below:

• April 21, 2023. By this date, eligible faculty must notify the DEO of their intention to submit a PDA proposal in the fall, and the DEO must forward this information to the Office of the Dean. (DEOs should send this information in a single list to the Assistant to the Associate Dean for Research in the Dean's Office by April 3, 2023.) DEOs should discuss the award process with eligible faculty early in the spring semester.
• April-May. The Office of the Dean will appoint an ad hoc faculty committee representing the range of disciplines in the College to review and evaluate all proposals to be submitted the subsequent fall.
• Early August. Faculty members must complete and submit their PDA applications in the Faculty Admin Center by Friday, August 12, 2022.
• Mid-August. 
• DEOs must review the PDA proposals prepared by their faculty. DEOs are encouraged to seek the advice of their departmental executive committee or senior faculty on the quality of the proposals. DEOs must log into the Faculty Admin Center and submit their recommendation decision along with a brief statement, including (1) a brief description of the process used in their department for reviewing proposals, (2) a ranking of the department’s proposals if there is more than one, and (3) information about circumstances that influence the timing or priority of proposed PDAs by Friday, August 26, 2022.
• Early Fall (date assigned annually by the College). The ad hoc review committee will make recommendations to the Dean according to the established criteria. The Dean consults the CLAS Associate Deans before making final recommendations to the Provost.

Post-PDA Activity Report

Each faculty member receiving a Professional Development Award must submit a report on PDA activity by the deadlines set by the Provost’s Office. If a CLAS faculty member fails to submit this report by the deadline established by the Office of the Provost, the College will delay by one year their eligibility to apply for the next Professional Development Award. The Provost’s Office provides guidelines for writing this report.

• Reports for leaves completed during AY 2021-2022 are due to the DEO by August 12, 2022, and due to the Dean by August 19, 2022 via the Faculty Admin Center.
• Reports for leaves completed during AY 2022-2023 are due to the DEO by August 14, 2023, and due to the Dean by August 28, 2023 via the Faculty Admin Center.

Forms

Instructions for the PDA application process are at this link.

Applications must be submitted through the Faculty Admin Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Related Information

Provost Office Guidance for Faculty Development Awards

Revision History

Last updated 9/18/22