CYFC Faculty Fellows Program

Overview

The Faculty Fellows Program is designed to support social science faculty in developing interdisciplinary collaborations and an external grant proposal by providing time for study and training in new research areas (e.g., course work, participation in cross-disciplinary labs, developing community connections with hard-to-reach populations, immersion in a hospital or medical center, attending long-term training seminars). The Fellows Program will provide $15,000 over the course of one academic year for two course releases to facilitate the faculty member's activities.

Eligibility

Tenure-track faculty members in the social sciences at all career levels are eligible to apply.

Funding Availability

Up to five faculty fellowships will be available during the 2008-2009 Academic Year. With support from their unit head, associate dean, and dean, faculty may use fellowship resources during one semester to buy out of two courses or across two semesters for release from one course per semester. Two areas for faculty development which have been targeted for 2008-2009 include:

1. Developing capacity for studying the biological bases of behavior, health, and development (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging, endocrine function, genetics).
2. Developing capacity for studying diverse and hard-to-reach populations (e.g., establishing a presence in local communities, meeting community leaders, developing relationships with governmental and non-governmental organizations).

Application Process

Applications for Faculty Fellow support should be submitted to your department head. A copy must also be sent to the Associate Dean for Research. The department head, in consultation with the Associate Dean, will put forward the most promising applications to the dean. The dean will then send forward to the CYFC up to three proposals.

Proposals are due to department heads by March 17, 2008. Department heads should forward promising proposals to the dean by March 28, 2008. Deans should forward final proposals to the CYFC by April 11, 2008.

The CYFC Steering Committee will review proposals at the end of April or beginning of May.

The application should be no more than two single-spaced pages and should contain the following:

1. Goals for Faculty Fellow Support
2. Activity Plan
   1. Specify the area of interest.
   2. Provide the specifics of the plan for the award period, including your choice of a "mentor(s)"/collaborator(s) in your chosen area of study and description of their qualifications.
   3. Demonstrate clearly how the plan fits into your overall career goals and plans, including how this work will culminate in an external grant proposal.
   4. Highlight any previous work that you have done that is relevant to your plan.
   5. Present a schedule of the accomplishment of your goals. This should cover the length of the proposed award (one or two semesters) and dates for accomplishment.
3. Letters of support from your unit head and mentor(s)/collaborator(s).

Review Criteria

• Merits of the proposal and qualifications and commitment of the mentor(s)/collaborator(s).
• Centrality of the goals to the target areas.
• Feasibility of accomplishing the plan in the proposed period.
• Likelihood of external funding by the applicant in the target area.

Expected Outcome

There is a strong expectation that an interdisciplinary, external grant proposal will be submitted by each fellow within 6-12 months of the completion of the fellowship.

Progress Report

Awardees will be required to provide a progress report at the end of the funding period, highlighting progress made and the plan and timeline for an external grant proposal.

Contact

Susan McHale (x2u@psu.edu; 814-865-2663) or Keith Aronson (kra105@psu.edu; 814-865-6909)

NOTE TO DEANS: Please email final proposals to Donna Panasiti (donnap@pop.psu.edu).

Last modified: 02/21/08 | Contact Webmaster