Nothing is more central to the life of a university such as ours than the process whereby
faculty and students engage in original research, scholarship or creative activity. The
purpose of this memo is to announce a series of programs for research support from both the
College and the University. You will receive more information about these opportunities
from the College or from the sponsoring unit as they become available. Please contact the
CAS Associate Dean of Research at casresearch@american.edu if you have any questions.
FACULTY RESEARCH SUPPORT
Faculty Research Expense Accounts (REAs) have been established for each College of Arts
and Sciences tenure-line faculty member who has a teaching load of four courses or fewer
before any release for service. These accounts may be used for valid research expenses,
including travel, publication costs, software, supplies, etc. The default value for these
accounts is $1000/year. Principal Investigators who submitted a significant grant or
fellowship application in the previous fiscal year will have their REAs augmented by $500.
Continuing term faculty members who submitted a significant grant or fellowship application
in the previous fiscal year will have REAs accounts established with $500 balances. No
application for these funds is required. Simply ask that your Research Expense Account to be
used when submitting a reimbursement request to the Dean’s Office. Tenure-line faculty who
do not have Research Expense Accounts but require funding to restart their research
programs should contact the CAS Associate Dean of Research at casresearch@american.edu.
Faculty with startup accounts must exhaust those funds before their REA will be available to
them.
The Conference Travel Fund (CTF), previously called the Provost Travel Fund (PTF), will
support any tenure-line faculty member presenting research, exhibitions, or performances at
disciplinary conferences. This program provides funding of up to $750 per faculty member
per fiscal year. Reimbursement requests will be processed by the College of Arts and
Sciences, and must be accompanied by a letter of acceptance or by the conference program
listing. No application for these funds is required. Simply ask that the Conference Travel
Fund be used when submitting a reimbursement request to the Dean’s Office.
The Term Faculty Research Fund (TFRF) supports continuing term faculty members who
have completed two or more semesters of full-time teaching for the College. This fund will
reimburse up to $750 for any valid research expense including conference or research travel.
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The research funds will be available for the fiscal year (May 1 – April 30), and will not roll
over to subsequent years.
The University’s Faculty Research Support Awards fund creative work, experimental
investigations, historical studies and other scholarly endeavors on the part of AU faculty with
a budget of $10,000 or less for a faculty member of $25,000 or less for a team of faculty.
Budget items may include graduate student support during the summer and/or the academic
year, travel to off-campus sites to conduct research or present findings at professional
conferences, purchase of necessary research equipment, or other expenses directly related to
the proposed research. For full details of the program and proposal guidelines, please see
http://www.american.edu/research/frsg-forms.cfm. Proposals are typically due to the
Provost’s Office in early December.
Mellon Competition: The College of Arts and Sciences Research Committee awards grants
to tenure-line and term faculty to support faculty research, teaching, travel, and the
preparation of external grant proposals. Funds are not awarded for salary or for course
release. There will be two rounds of Mellon awards, one in the fall and one in the spring.
Look for email announcements of these competitions near the beginning of the fall and
spring semesters. If you have questions please contact the CAS Associate Dean of Research
at casresearch@american.edu. College Mellon Fund awards are limited to $4,000 per person
per academic year. Funds must be used within one year of the award date.
Support for Equipment/Materials: The College Research Committee will review proposals
for larger-scale (i.e., greater than $4,000 but less than $10,000) equipment and materials
necessary to carry out faculty research. A one-page proposal and detailed budget are
required for this review. Faculty holding start-up funds should draw down these funds prior
to submission to this program. Requests should be sent to the CAS Associate Dean of
Research at casresearch@american.edu and will be considered on a rolling basis.
Faculty seeking equipment in excess of $10,000 should initiate that process by speaking with
the CAS Associate Dean of Research.
The International Travel Awards program provides tenure-line faculty with funding for
travel abroad. This award serves primarily to enhance faculty research, professional or
creative activities, but may also be used for the presentation of work at significant
professional conferences. Applications are usually due to the Office of Academic Affairs
in mid-January. A complete description of the program can be found at:
http://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/faculty-support-awards.cfm
The Junior Faculty Teaching Release (JFTR) program offers tenure-track faculty an
opportunity to devote themselves to scholarly, creative, and professional activities at a
critical time during the pre-tenure years. The program allows the faculty member to have no
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teaching responsibilities for one semester in order to devote themself fully to research and
creative activities. The JFTR may be taken in the spring semester of the third pre-tenure year
of service or in either semester of the fourth pre-tenure year of service. Applications are
typically due to the Associate Dean of Research at casresearch@american.edu in mid to
late February, for JFTRs to be taken in the following fall or spring semesters (deadlines
are set by the Provost’s office). Information about the JFTR program can be found at
http://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/faculty-support-awards.cfm. Please make
sure to use the checklist available on that webpage when applying.