Funding for Faculty Development

The Faculty Development Funds Committee

Article 24.6.1 of the 2022-2025 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the University of Cincinnati and the AAUP stipulates that college-level committees shall be formed to review, approve/reject, and distribute faculty development funds. The University shall provide funding under this Article to support the following types of faculty development falling into two categories: individual faculty and faculty group ($5,000 maximum), and supporting materials ($500 maximum).

Eligibility

In accordance with the UC-AAUP collective bargaining agreement, all full-time UCBA Faculty, including Represented Adjuncts, Clinical Track Faculty, and Educators, are eligible to apply for these Faculty Development Funds. Only completed applications and activities within the specified funding dates will be considered.

Committee Details

Committee Members (AY 2023–24)

Committee Members
Name	Status	Acad. Unit	Role	End Date	Position
Brenda Rafai	Tenured	L&TC	Appointed	2025
Kelsi Becker	Tenure Track	Allied Health	Appointed	2025	Secretary
Tres Kutcher	Tenured	Biology	Elected	2025	Chair
Amber Peplow	Tenured	English	Elected	2025
Alana Dillon	Tenure Track	Vet Tech	Appointed	2026
Tera Archbold	Tenure Track	Allied Health	Appointed	2026
Joseph Baumgartner	Tenured	L&TC	Appointed	2026
Maggie Biddle	Tenured	Allied Health	Elected	2026	Vice Chair
Jacquelyn Gibbs	Tenured	Nursing	Elected	2026
Diane White	NA	Business Office	Ex-officio	ongoing

Proposal Considerations, Descriptions & Applications

The Faculty Development Funds Committee will make every effort to fund as many requests as funds allow. It is possible this effort will mean that partial funding may be awarded.

In the event that the proposals submitted exceed funds available, the committee will use the following considerations to determine the distribution of funds. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

Considerations:

A clear and complete proposal, including a comprehensive budget, detailing how these funds will be used to advance the applicant’s professional development.
Specific considerations:
1. Clear goals for the proposal.
2. The length of time between funding awards.
3. Expected contribution to the faculty member’s professional development, discipline or department, and to UCBA, in that order.
Refer to the rubric associated with each type of award for details.

Individual Faculty and Faculty Group ($5,000 Maximum)

Description: This award is for expenses that support a faculty member’s disciplinary or extradisciplinary professional development in teaching, research, scholarship, creative work, service and/or leadership as described in Article 24.1.1-3 of the Contract for any amount up to $5,000. This award may be used for, but is not limited to, any conference (to participate, present, moderate or attend), event, or opportunity, at the local, state, regional, national, or international level. Applications under this subsection must come to the College with prior approval from the applicant's academic unit. There is a maximum of two (2) funded applications per Faculty Member per academic year under this subsection.

Directions: Download the UCBA Template for each proposal (one proposal/conference per application), complete the applicant portions and save as a Word document. Forward to your Academic Unit Head (and Study Abroad and Exchange Committee, if applicable) to add signatures of approval. Note: This need not be the unit head if the unit designates another person to sign. This approval is a presence/absence item and is not part of the rubric but is required to make the application complete. Submit a final report (see below) for any previous funding, if applicable. Save the completed document as a PDF. Click on the “Submit your proposal or final report” button at the bottom of this site. While there is a specific upload for unit approval, there is no need to add it if it is in the application PDF. *Note: Applicants must follow the template on this site in order for the application to be considered complete for review and consideration of funds.

Download Individual/Group Rubric PDF Download Application Form for Faculty Development Proposal Doc

Supporting Materials ($500 Maximum)

Description: This award provides funding for hardware and/or software purchases or other supporting materials related to professional development in teaching, research, scholarship, creative work, service and/or leadership as described in Article 24.1.1-3 of the Contract for a maximum award of $500. Applications in this area must come to the College with prior approval from the applicant’s academic unit. There is a maximum of one (1) funded application per Faculty Member per academic year under this area.

Directions: Download the UCBA Template for each proposal (one proposal/conference per application), complete the applicant portions and save as a Word document. Forward to your Academic Unit Head to add signature of approval. Note: This need not be the unit head if the unit designates another person to sign. This approval is a presence/absence item and is not part of the rubric but is required to make the application complete. Submit a final report (see below) for any previous funding, if applicable. Save the completed document as a PDF. Click on the “Submit your proposal or final report” button at the bottom of this site. While there is a specific upload for unit approval, there is no need to add it if it is in the application PDF. *Note: Applicants must follow the template on this site in order for the application to be considered complete for review and consideration of funds.

Download Supporting Materials Rubric PDF Download Application Form for Faculty Development Proposal Doc

Final Report

Awardees must submit a final report to the Faculty Development Funds Ad Hoc Committee explaining the results or outcomes of the project and documenting expenses. This is due within 30 days of completion of the project.

Because of new auditing procedures for the University, business offices are now required to provide more extensive documentation of expenses of all kinds, including Faculty Development awards. Be aware that the business office will need detailed documentation of expenses and receipts for Faculty Development awards. Please develop a single report for both purposes, with receipts to accompany the copy of the report that goes to the business office and only the report will go to the funding committee.

Please keep in mind that the award of funds for the project as proposed is viewed as a contract between the faculty member(s) and the funding committee. Any deviation from the proposed use of funds should be approved at the unit level first.

Reports should be submitted through the UCBA Learning and Teaching Center website where the proposal was originally submitted. Click on the Submit your proposal and find the hyperlink for “Faculty Development Funds Report.”

Download Final Report Template Word Doc

Submit your Proposal Now

Submission Deadlines (contact the chair with questions)

Round 1 Submission Deadline: September 23, 2024
Round 2 Submission Deadline: January 6, 2025
Round 3 Submission Deadline: April 7, 2025

Submit Your Proposal or Final Report

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply to the Faculty Development Funds (FDF)?

All AAUP contracted faculty. These include Tenured and Tenure–Track faculty, Educators, Clinical Track Faculty and Annual Represented Adjuncts.

How many rounds (per academic year) are there for an application submission to the FDF?

Typically, there are two review rounds, Fall and Spring. Fall round reviews take place in October and Spring reviews take place in February

Can one apply to the FDF, on the top of the annually allocated professional development funds ($1,000/$1,500)?

Yes. The FDF funding is a separate funding from the annual PDF allocation, and is meant to seek extra funding for an activity (Disciplinary, Software/Hardware or Extra Disciplinary) as described on the UCBA Faculty Development Funds website.

Is “Educator” rank being considered within the same rank as “Tenure Faculty?”

Yes, but, “Untenured, Tenure Track” faculty are given preference as indicated in the contract.

I’m co-presenting with a colleague. Do I need to file a joint or a separate application?

Proposals may be written for an individual or group of faculty. However, each proposal is eligible for a maximum award of $5,000, and each individual faculty member may receive a maximum of two awards in this category per academic year.

What evidence should I provide that I am presenting at a conference or event?

Please include the confirmation that your proposal has been accepted.

What documentation should I submit to support my budget proposal?

As noted in the rubrics, your budget should include specific sources of expected costs, demonstrating research into costs.

Who do I ask for a signature to approve my activity if I’m the Department Chair?

You need to ask the Associate Dean for one.

How do I know whether my proposal has indeed been submitted?

You will get a confirmation email from the Chair of the FDF Subcommittee. You can also contact the Chair and confirm receipt of your proposal. The FDF Chair does not receive contents of the applications until after the deadline therefore receipt of proposal is not indicative of a complete application.

What if I unintentionally submitted my proposal twice?

You will need to immediately contact the FDF Subcommittee Chair, and ask for one proposal to be dropped. Failure to do so might cause your most updated proposal not to be considered.

Can I apply to more than one round per academic year?

Yes. A faculty member may receive funding for a maximum of two Individual Faculty or Faculty Group awards, and one Supporting Materials awards per academic year.

Can I submit a combined proposal for two conferences?

A proposal may only include a request for one activity, but more than one proposal can be submitted during a single funding cycle. In the event of two (2) proposals are submitted in the same round by the same applicant(s), preference will be given to the higher scoring application of the two. If unused funds remain, the second proposal may also receive funding. Applicants will be asked to indicate their top funding priority when submitting two proposals.; this indication will also be used in the event both applications are scored equally. If the applicant does not indicate a preference, the committee will fund the proposal with the highest score and not the highest amount of funding requested. If the proposals receive the same score and the applicant has not indicated a preference, the committee will award the higher requested amount and the second proposal will be considered after all other proposals in the round.

I can’t find my previously funded proposal. Any suggestions?

All previously funded proposals, from 2017 to present, are hosted within the Provost Office repository, and can be requested as needed. The FDF Subcommittee Chair can be contacted to assist with this request.

Can I transfer awarded funds to a different event than the original proposal submission?

All proposals are approved by the FDF committee based on the proposal submitted. Funds cannot be used for items not approved or listed in the budget.

How are my awarded funds distributed?

Faculty will receive notification of their accepted proposals. All receipts must be submitted through Concur and match the approved budget proposal. Funds are only allotted for items listed within the budget proposal for the dates submitted on the application.

Am I able to use FDF instead of the Annual UCBA Professional Development funds?

FDF cannot be awarded to an event that has already been paid for in the Concur system with the Annual UCBA Professional Funds.

Contact Information

Sriparna Ghosh, Chair

E: ghoshs7@ucmail.uc.edu