Internal Faculty Leave Support

All tenured faculty who submit leave support proposals by November 1 will be considered for all of the below awards. Pre-tenure faculty interested in being considered for the additional support provided by the Mellon, Bowdoin Faculty Research, and Porter awards may submit a research support proposal during the Faculty Development Committee's April proposal submittal process.

Andrew W. Mellon Award | Bowdoin Faculty Research Award | Bowdoin Faculty Leave Award | Porter Award | Additional Information 

Andrew W. Mellon Award

Pre-tenure leaves: $6,000 research award. May elect to divert up to $10,000 of leave salary for research expenses during the leave.

Tenured leaves: One semester salary support. May elect to divert up to $10,000 of leave salary for research expenses during the leave. 

Up to two Mellon fellowships can be awarded each year: one for a pre-tenure leave and one for a tenured leave.

Bowdoin Faculty Research Award

Pre-tenure leaves: up to $10,000 for research expenses.

Tenured leaves: 75% of a one semester salary (=37.5% annual salary) plus up to $10,000 for research expenses. 

Bowdoin Faculty Research fellowships are intended to further faculty development by supporting distinguished, substantive, multi-year projects. Outstanding research programs or projects aimed at improvement in teaching are strongly encouraged.

In addition, projects which fall outside of the standard research or instructional categories will be seriously considered if they substantially contribute to a faculty member's intellectual development or to the educational mission of the College. Proposals built on well-defined departures from previous teaching or research will be viewed as favorably as those proposals that promise substantial enrichment of ongoing projects. In all cases the project should represent a faculty member's primary commitment over a specified period of time.

Up to two fellowships will be awarded: one fellowship to be awarded to an assistant professor, and one to a tenured faculty member. Availability of funds is limited to the period of a faculty member's Bowdoin appointment. Faculty who receive a Bowdoin Faculty Research Fellowship (or, as it was previously called, a Kenan Fellowship) will become eligible to apply again no sooner than ten years after receiving their award.

If a successful applicant has received a Faculty Research Award for a portion of the Bowdoin Faculty Research Fellowship project, the former grant should normally be returned to the College.

Bowdoin Faculty Leave Award

Tenured leaves: 75% of a one semester salary (=37.5% annual salary.)

Porter Award

Pre-tenure leaves: up to $6,000 for travel and relocation expenses.

Tenured leaves: 75% of a one semester salary (=37.5% annual salary) plus up to $6,000 for travel and relocation expenses.

The Elizabeth Watkins Porter and Robert Chamberlain Porter Fund was established in 1998 to "encourage faculty renewal and development to benefit both faculty and their students" by enabling faculty members to "engage in advanced study or research at other universities."

Additional Information

Should the Committee have to decide between two meritorious proposals, only one of which comes from an individual with an approved upcoming sabbatical, preference will be given to that person. In addition, support will generally not be awarded to fund a third consecutive semester of leave. A recipient of an award who is also in receipt of external funding can retain that portion of the award that would bring their salary to a maximum of 100 percent for a semester of leave in addition to the sabbatic semester.

How to Submit | What to Submit | Leave Supplement Template Description

How to Submit

A complete application consists of three components: a project description (items 1-3 below), a CV and a budget. All materials should be submitted electronically using the leave supplement application template and travel budget format on or before November 1 (tenured faculty) or the deadline in April (pre-tenure faculty) to fdc@bowdoin.edu. The budget may be submitted in the application template or Excel format. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

Applicants only need to submit one application to be considered for any of the four award programs. The Committee will consider the application for any of the programs for which the project is eligible.

What to Submit

Applicants should make clear to the Committee the special benefit to be gained from a leave of absence or the addition of a semester to a sabbatical semester. Award amounts and details differ by fellowship. Applicants do not need to state their salaries in their applications, as the final calculations will be performed in the Dean’s Office. The Committee will not have access to confidential salary information.

Please use the Leave Supplement Template. A description of the template items follows here:

1. Title of project.
2. A brief abstract of the proposal (fewer than 100 words). Please note that this should be an abstract of the proposal, not the project alone.
3. A narrative description (no more than four pages single-spaced,) in which the applicant makes clear in language that is accessible to non-specialist colleagues the following. Please use the following subheads, verbatim, in bold, to organize your proposal:
      a. The ideas, problems, works or questions the study will examine.
      b. The specific steps to be taken to accomplish this project.
      c. The significance of the project to my scholarly field and research/artistic program.
      d. The relationship of the project to my ongoing development as a scholar.
      e. Anticipated outcome(s). A clear statement of anticipated outcome(s).
      f.  Previous awards from the Faculty Development Committee. The dates and amount of awards from the Faculty Development Committee received over the past six years and a brief summary of their results. Please include dates and names of any leave support from the committee over the past ten years. Any relationships between previously funded projects and the current research must be described.
     g. Other sources of funding. If external funding has been sought - or applications will be submitted - this should be noted in the application, with a list of agencies or organizations to which applications have been or will be submitted. If external funds are obtained, the total amount of all salary awards, from both Bowdoin and non-Bowdoin sources cannot exceed a faculty member's annualized salary.
4. A current curriculum vitae.
5. A budget for travel, materials, and other expenses related to the project. Some of the award programs include funds for project expenses (e.g. travel, materials, etc.) Please use the suggested travel budget format.

A completed Leave Supplement application should not include the following:

1. A cover letter
2. Any personal information about the applicant (e.g. salary information, family situation, etc.)

Report

As described in the Faculty Handbook, you must submit a brief report of your sabbatic activities to the dean’s office within three months of your return from leave. You should send the report by email to the dean’s office (acadaffs@bowdoin.edu) and we will place it in your file. These reports are very helpful when we report to donors who support faculty development activities.

Share Your Work

You are encouraged to contribute to the intellectual community of the college by sharing your scholarly and artistic work at a faculty lunch seminar or other college events.  An associate dean or a staff member from the office of the dean for academic affairs will reach out with an invitation.