The CLAS Excellence and Innovation Funds 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) a timely and creative 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, and should also contribute to the College’s goals as described in the Strategic Plan, especially the goal of promoting excellence through increasing diversity (see the Strategic Plan, Goal II).

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 the department has discussed as a means of fostering excellence.

Awards are typically in the range of $5,000 to $10,000. Awards may be for a single year or for multiple years.

Proposals

The College calls for proposals in the spring semester, with a deadline in early May. A list of awards made since the program began in 2003 is available on this website.

Proposals may be submitted by the DEO on behalf of the department or on behalf of a group of faculty. Proposals include the following elements:

• The cover sheet (doc), with budget information and required DEO signature.
• The proposal itself (not to exceed two additional pages). The proposal should demonstrate how the initiative meets the criteria mentioned above, including details on how diversity will be fostered. 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.

In departments that are submitting more than one proposal, the DEO must include a letter rank-ordering the proposals according to their importance for the visibility of the department.

The Dean consults the CLAS Executive Committee in selecting which proposals are to be funded.

Source of the Funding

As part of the University’s Comprehensive Campaign, the College is raising “Excellence and Innovation Funds” with a goal of establishing a $1 million endowment. The funds support the College's Strategic Planning goal “to foster and support the visibility and leadership of our faculty in research, scholarship, and creative work.”

The Excellence and Innovation Funds are to be used

• to enhance the intellectual and artistic environment in our departments and other arenas of faculty interaction,
• to help faculty and departments achieve their aspirations for excellence, and
• to lead to improvements in the external visibility and reputation of our departments and faculty.