OU Faculty Senate

All faculty at the rank of assistant professor and above are invited to submit applications to the Faculty Senate for the Ed Cline Faculty Development Awards. Awards up to $2,500 will be considered. 

The faculty development fund provides support for all aspects of a faculty member’s mission including teaching. This differs from the charge of the Research Council, which supports only research/creative activities. Proposals should have a clear connection to the faculty member’s professional development: acquiring new skills, knowledge, and experience that advance faculty performance, as opposed to contributing to the general well-being of their academic unit.

Since funds are limited, priority will be given to non-routine, special opportunities and projects that will offer long-term enhancement of an individual’s professional development. 

Examples of funded activities include (but are not limited to):

• taking a course that offers training in new pedagogical strategies 

• obtaining materials needed to implement new approaches to teaching

• developing a skill or other knowledge that will apply to creative or teaching activity, but isn’t research per se, such as learning a foreign language or gaining familiarity in a new tool or technique vital to the direction of active or new creative activity. 

• promoting/developing substantial, active collaborations that will enhance a faculty member’s ongoing teaching or research goals.

• support costs for bringing artistic works to an exhibition space.

Proposals that are less likely to be funded from other sources, e.g., the Research Council. Simultaneous submissions to the Faculty Development Fund and the Research Council, for an Arts & Sciences Faculty Enrichment Grant, or for an Arts and Humanities Faculty Fellowship will not be considered. Also, we request that faculty submit proposals only if departmental and/or college funds are not available to support the activity. However, proposals that have matching or partially matching funds from these sources are acceptable. Emphasis is on projects that support the career development of the faculty member submitting the application. Preference is given to new, non-routine special projects or to helping individuals seize special opportunities, rather than to routine activities such as traveling to regular professional conferences to give papers.

Application guidelines are provided below, along with a link to an example of a successful proposal. Awards are made once a year. Previous award recipients may not apply the first year after their award but may apply again after two years.

APPLICATION INFORMATION.

I. The following information should be provided via the linked form.

1. Title of the proposed activity.
   
2. Applicant information: Please provide your name, title, department affiliation, college, phone number and email address and this information if there are any faculty co-applicants.
   
3. Provide the departmental account number to which the funds will be transferred if awarded. (Please verify th with your department financial staff as OU has made budgetary changes this year.)
   
4. Amount requested. (Note: maximum requested may be $2,500)
   
5. State whether the project does or does not involve any of the following: human subjects, laboratory animals, biohazards, export controls, toxins, radioisotopes, or recombinant DNA technology. If so, IRB, IACUC or biosafety committee approval will be required to receive funding and provide your signature.  Your signature affirms that you will not seek duplicate funding from other university sources (e. g., from the Research Council).
   
6. Provide contact information for your departmental chair.  Your chair will be contacted to affirm that departmental/college funds are not available to support this activity.
   

II. Proposal format:

Provide a summary of the project and requested budget information, not to exceed 500 words (which is roughly 2 double-spaced pages using normal formatting for margins and font size and style). Remember that your proposal will be read by a diverse group of faculty members, most of whom will have no background in your field. Therefore, please prioritize clarity and keep jargon and acronyms to a minimum. Your narrative should include the following items. Using section headings to delineate each item is very helpful for the committee.

• Purpose: A statement of the basic purpose or goal of the project and how the project contributes to your professional development.
• Proposed Plan: An explanation of what you plan to do if you are funded.
• Anticipated Results: A description of the results or outcomes that you expect from the project. How will you benefit? What will be the significance of the project to your professional aims and goals?
• Funding History A brief statement of previous funding history related to this project. if no funding has been received, please state that 
• Budget Explanation: An explanation of how the funds will be spent and why they are needed. Since funds are limited, briefly state why such activities cannot be supported by other sources. his portion of the proposal should be no more than one paragraph in length but should explain clearly how the funds will be used.
• Note Note that funding will generally not be given for incentives to survey participants, summer salary to complete a book, collaborator travel support, unless the collaboration is substantial and clearly related to the individual faculty member’s professional development, student recruitment activities, student training, and payment of students, though exceptions may be made. Requests for travel per diems/meals will not be granted.

III. Biographical information:

• Provide an up-to-date curriculum vita (2-pages maximum, but not your annual mini-vita) that lists recent publications/creative activities. If you have received this award in the past, you must include a copy of your most recent final Report of Activity (see below).

Report of activity:

• Within two months of completing your project, you should submit a one-page report of the activity undertaken to the Faculty Senate office, with a copy to your chair/director. Failure to submit this report within the two-month period will prevent consideration of your application for future awards.

APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO FACSEN@OU.EDU NO LATER THAN 5 PM ON DECEMBER 19, 2025

Call for Applications

Application Cover Page

Sample Proposal