Scholarship & Creative Work Awards

Purpose

To enable full-time faculty to pursue scholarly research, writing and/or creative work by providing reassigned time from teaching one 4-credit course during the academic year of the award. Scholarship and Creative Work (SCW) Awards are intended to encourage a wide range of scholarly and creative work, as well as activities that lead to securing outside funding. Awards can be used to initiate, continue, or complete projects. This includes preparatory activities in support of future research and creative work.

Process

A call for applications for the SCW Awards for the next academic year is announced each fall. The Research and Grants Office collects applications. A selection committee chaired by the Grants Partner and made up of divisional representatives will review applications and make recommendations to the Dean of the Faculty, who will announce the final award winners.

Although any faculty who meet the eligibility criteria may apply, preference will be given to applicants who have not received a Scholarship and Creative Work Award in the past two years and to those who have actively attempted to secure outside funding for their scholarly research and/or creative works in the last five. Selections will attempt to maximize the variety of divisions, departments, and ranks among the award recipients without allocating a set number per division. 

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for an Award, a faculty member:

  1. Must have completed at least three full years of full-time teaching at CSB/SJU, whether as a tenured, tenure-track, and/or term faculty member;
  2. Must have a benefits-eligible contract during the application year and the award year;
  3. Must not be taking a sabbatical during the award year;
  4. Must not be eligible for SOT/Sem research reassignment;
  5. Must not hold an endowed chair; and
  6. Must commit to submitting a 1-2 page final report to the Research and Grants Office no later than two months after the end date of the Award.

Application Guidelines

Scholarship and Creative Work Awards are awarded on a competitive basis. Applications need to include:

  1. Cover sheet with applicant’s name, department, project title, and brief statement (150 word maximum) of project objectives; singled-spaced).
  2. Project narrative (2 pages maximum; single-spaced). Applications should be written in clear language accessible to the non-specialist and address the following:
    • Significance of the Project: Describe the scholarly research or creative work to be undertaken. Discuss the relevant significance of your scholarly/creative work activities to your field. Explain why you need a SCW award to support these activities.
    • Project Design: Describe the methodologies, activities, and overall time frame of this project. How much progress have you already made on the project and when might you (realistically) expect to complete it?
    • Outcomes: Detail the anticipated outcomes of the project (scholarly, scientific, creative). Describe plans for public accessibility for critique by one’s professional peers, such as publication of research results or public performance of a creative work, potential external funding opportunities, and how the scholarly or creative work will continue beyond the award period. Describe the project’s impact on your own professional development.
  3. Current and Pending Grant Support: List of all institutional and outside grants received and proposals submitted in the past five years, including current submissions.
  4. A maximum 2 page (single spaced)  research curriculum vitae (omit things such as teaching, non-research awards, service, etc.)
  5. Department Chair Approval Form (a Forms Manager that needs to be submitted by your Department Chair) or in the case of Chairs applying, from the Academic Dean. You will receive a confirmation email when your Department Chair has submitted the form.

Application Deadline

Proposals for the 2024-2025 SCW awards are due Wednesday, October 11 at 5:00 p.m. Submit your application as a single PDF to this Forms Manager. Decisions regarding the 2024-2025 awards will be announced by early November.