Internal Faculty Leave Support

 Tenured Faculty | Tenure-Track Faculty | Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

Tenured Faculty
Tenured faculty approved for sabbatical receive 1 fully-paid semester of leave, or 50% of regular annual salary, and may apply to the FDC for support for a second semester to enable a full year of leave. Faculty are eligible to apply for supplemental salary support and/or research support (travel, publication costs, materials, etc.) in connection with a sabbatical/research leave.

Tenured faculty who submit leave support applications by November 1 will be considered for all of the below awards. Faculty who do not need supplemental salary support but wish to apply for enhanced research support will be considered for the Bowdoin Sabbatical Research award. All faculty who request research support and do not receive a Mellon, Porter, or Bowdoin Sabbatical Research award will also be considered for regular FDC faculty research awards.

Please note that, barring exceptional circumstances, no more than one leave award will be awarded for a single project.

 Tenure-Track Faculty
All tenure-track faculty receive 100% salary support for a full year of pre-tenure sabbatic leave, pending successful reappointment and approval of their sabbatic request by the Dean for Academic Affairs. No application to the FDC is required.

Tenure-track faculty may apply for FDC research funding for their sabbatic leave during the April proposal submittal process. All applications will be considered both for regular FDC faculty research awards and for the enhanced awards provided by the Mellon, Porter, and Bowdoin Sabbatical Research awards.

Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
Non-tenure-track faculty are ineligible to apply for leave awards but may apply for regular FDC faculty research awards during any of the regular funding cycles.

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.

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

Bowdoin Faculty Leave Award

The Bowdoin Faculty Leave Award provides supplemental salary for tenured faculty to take a second semester of leave. The number of Faculty Leave Awards made varies each year. Leave supplement awards may be granted on their own if no funding for research expenses is requested, in conjunction with a Bowdoin Sabbatical Research Award, or in conjunction with a regular FDC research award.

Tenured leaves: Leave supplement salary for one semester of up to 37.5% regular annual salary (=75% of one semester’s salary)

Andrew W. Mellon Award

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Enhanced Sabbatical Leaves provides support for “sabbatical leaves, research, and professional peer engagement opportunities for Bowdoin faculty.” Up to two Mellon fellowships can be awarded each year: one for a pre-tenure leave and one for a tenured leave. Mellon Awards are normally for a period of one to two years, including the year of sabbatical leave itself.

Pre-tenure leaves: up to $10,000 sabbatical research award.

Tenured leaves: Leave supplement salary for one fully-paid semester (= 50% regular annual salary) and up to $10,000 sabbatical research award. 

Porter Award

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 during leaves," including residencies and research collaborations. Normally up to two Porter fellowships can be awarded each year: one for a pre-tenure leave and one for a tenured leave. Porter awards are normally for the year of the sabbatical leave only.

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

Tenured leaves: Leave supplement salary for one semester of up to 37.5% regular annual salary (=75% of one semester’s salary) and up to $10,000 for sabbatical travel and research expenses.

Bowdoin Sabbatical Research Award

Bowdoin Sabbatical Research fellowships are intended to further faculty development by supporting substantive, multi-year projects in connection with a sabbatical leave. Up to five fellowships can be awarded each year: one fellowship for a pre-tenure leave and up to four for tenured leaves. Awards are normally for a period of one to two years, including the year of sabbatical leave itself, but may be extended for a third year if necessary for the project.

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. Tenured faculty with an approved sabbatical who are not applying for leave supplemental salary are still eligible to apply for the Sabbatical Research Award.

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

Tenured leaves: up to $10,000 for research expenses. 

Additional Information

FDC leave supplement awards are calculated for all faculty, including faculty who are part-time, as a percentage of a faculty member’s normal annual salary. A faculty member may receive salary of no more than 100% of their annual pay in a year from all sources. (Summer salary and other forms of additional compensation are excluded from this calculation.) A recipient of an FDC leave supplement salary award who obtains other sources of leave salary support, including external funding or chair compensation, is therefore awarded up to the percentage of leave supplement funding that will bring them to 100% salary for the additional semester of leave (i.e. up to 100% salary for the full year) in combination with all other sources. Final percentages for leave supplement awards are determined by the dean’s office. Please direct any salary-specific questions to Saari Greylock (s.greylock@bowdoin.edu).

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.

Leave supplement awards, as with all paid leaves, are granted on the explicit expectation of the faculty member returning to teach at Bowdoin after the conclusion of their leave in accordance with the Faculty Handbook.

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.

Important: All employees who undertake College-funded international travel are required to register their travel plans in advance of their departure with the Treasurer’s Office, so they can be granted access to expedited emergency assistance resources and services (medical, legal, natural disaster, etc.) when traveling abroad. Please review the International Travel page for information and submit at least two weeks in advance of travel. U.S. citizens and nationals are additionally required, for insurance purposes, to register their travel with the State Department STEP program. All travelers are strongly encouraged to use Direct Travel / Concur for College-funded travel. Please contact Jim Kelley (jkelley@bowdoin.edu) with questions.