The College is calling for proposals for Excellence and Innovation Fund monies. This year, we hope to have a total of $20,000 in income to fund proposals that will achieve our planning goal “to foster and support the visibility and leadership of our faculty in research, scholarship, and creative work.”

These awards are intended to help academic units that aspire to distinction and visibility in research and graduate training. The proposals must meet two chief criteria: (1) an innovative concept and (2) promise for increasing the Department’s reputation and visibility within the University, the nation, and the state. The proposals should be based on faculty discussions of how the department can move to the next level of quality and distinction.

Proposals should explain the effect that the initiative will have on the goals mentioned above. Funding may be requested for such initiatives as disciplinary or interdisciplinary conferences to be held on our campus, innovative interarts performances, special opportunities for graduate student recruitment or development--or other activities or initiatives that your department has discussed as a means of fostering excellence.

We expect proposals to be in the range of $5,000 to $10,000. Proposals may be for a single year or for multiple years. If the proposal is for seed money for a project that will be on-going after the period of the award, the proposal must explain how the funds for continuing the project will be secured.

Proposals for Excellence and Innovation Funds should be submitted by the DEO on behalf of the department or on behalf of a group of faculty. (Include the cover sheet with the proposal; the proposal itself is not to exceed two additional pages.) The original and four copies of the cover sheet and proposal must be submitted to the Office of the Dean, 240 SH, by Monday, April 28. In departments that are submitting more than one proposal, the DEO must include a cover letter rank-ordering the proposals according to their importance for the visibility of the department.

I will consult the Associate Deans in selecting proposals to be funded. In the past five years, the College has funded a total of 16 proposals for Excellence and Innovation Funds and enlisted the help of the University and the Graduate College in supporting two additional proposals. Click here for a list of previously funded Excellence and Innovation proposals.