Academic Affairs

Travel to conduct off-site research, archival research, collaborative research, and attendance at faculty retooling seminars/institutes are all appropriate requests to this fund. Meal and lodging costs (up to $200 a day) can be included in the budget.

When applying for the cost of research materials (i.e. laboratory supplies, books, videos, etc.), the applicant should first check with his or her department about the availability of resources allotted directly to the department or through departmental or library funds, and should discuss such efforts in the proposal. Materials purchased through the grant become the property of the College unless other arrangements are made and authorized by the Committee, with the following exception. The purchase of books, videos, etc., that would become the property of the applicant should be justified in terms of the project and should normally not exceed ten percent of the total funds requested.

Reimbursement for page charges for publication in learned journals may be requested in a grant application, as may editorial support and other subventions of academic publications. Requests for subventions for book publishing should be accompanied by a letter from the press that clarifies the publisher’s policy and provides information about the costs for which the applicant seeks funding. However, grants are not meant to cover the purchase of reprints. Faculty members are encouraged to negotiate with their publisher, bearing in mind the maximum amount of FDC research awards and carefully considering the proposed cost of copies and royalties supplied to the author.

Funding for professional trips to conferences can be requested provided that the previous year’s balance and current year allocation of travel funds from the Dean for Academic Affairs are expected to be exhausted during the current academic year. If this condition is met, funds can be requested either to supplement a costly single trip or to support additional professional trips and proposals will be considered as funds are available.

For those faculty members awarded with travel funds, 100% of the first $1,000 will be reimbursed and 75% of additional costs up to a total of $2,000 per person per year. Should there be funds available at the end of the year, those who have conference costs exceeding $2,000 may be further reimbursed. 

A request for support to attend a conference must explicitly state the value of the conference to the applicant’s research program. Moreover, it is preferable that the applicant be giving a paper and/or be an organizer. A request for additional funding for conference travel may also be made when the applicant expects to carry on other research in conjunction with the professional trip. Proposals to fund professional trips to conferences must specify the number of days for which support is requested.

Applicants for conference support will be required to submit a description of the intended use of the Dean’s professional conference travel funds. At the end of the academic year, if a faculty member has not used their balance from the Dean’s travel funds, the unused funds will revert to the Faculty Research Fund in an amount not to exceed the size of the Faculty Research Fund grant.

To see the complete list of allowable expenses please visit the College's Expense Reimbursement Policy. Examples of expenses that are not reimbursable by the College are prescriptions, over-the-counter medication or other medical expenses, amenities such as movies, health clubs or in-room bars, expenses related to non-Bowdoin activities or personal time taken before, during or after a business trip. If you have an expense and are not sure if it is an allowable expense please contact Kathi Lucas in the Academic Dean's Office (klucas@bowdoin.edu) or Lynne Toussaint in the Controller's Office (ltoussai@bowdoin.edu) for clarification.