Request for Flagship Program Proposals
1 November, 2010
I: Introduction
In order to strengthen the core competencies of the University and thus to further the university’s
aspiration to become a regional institution of national quality, the President and Provost invite
individual faculty members, faculty teams, and directors to submit academic Flagship Program
proposals for select undergraduate or graduate programs.
Since President Delaney announced the initiative in 2004, the university has established four
such programs. In 2005, the School of Nursing was selected for Flagship status. The next year
three were selected—Coastal Biology, International Business, and Transportation and Logistics.
Programs are selected for Flagship status in general because of their excellence in the scholarly
accomplishments of their faculty and the demonstrable potential of those faculty to sustain a
trajectory toward scholarly distinction; their potential to produce particularly compelling or
exceptional educational outcomes for students; and their power to link the quality of education at
UNF to a range of civic needs in the region. For this reason, Flagship Programs are selected to
receive significant budgetary support for a period of five years (with the possibility of further,
albeit reduced, support), during which time they are ideally expected to become self-sustaining
or to have generated external funding support.
The President now seeks to establish a fifth academic Flagship Proposal and welcomes your
applications.
II: What to Include in the Proposal
Because Flagship programs invariably will be unique, this year’s committee wants to encourage
innovation, creativity, and resourcefulness. To this multiple end, we ask you to articulate the
purposes, aims, and values of your program in a manner that you think will best communicate
the contribution your program will make to the University of North Florida. We offer the
following guidelines, then, as a way of facilitating your efforts to develop the strongest possible
proposals in a form that is most appropriate to the nature of your vision.
1. Flagship Proposals should respond to such questions as the following:
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How does the proposed program or program enhancement align with the ideals of liberal
education, scientific inquiry, creative endeavor, or professional development that are
central to the University of North Florida’s mission? How does it extend or build on
those ideals? How does it promote or how will it further promote student learning and
faculty scholarship?
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How is the proposed program or program enhancement consistent with the strategic plan
and strategic goals of a specific college or of UNF’s cross-college or university-wide
goals?
What strategic planning has gone into the proposed program or program enhancement?
For example, how developed or ready for development is the program—in terms of
current faculty, administrative capacities, curricular considerations, and so on?
What is your proposed budget? What financial and human resources are needed?
What is the timeline for the proposed program or program enhancement to reach its
goals?
What annual benchmarks will you use to determine and evaluate progress?
How will the program continue to meet resource requirements after Flagship funding
diminishes or ends?
How can the proposed program or program enhancement compete effectively to leverage
Flagship resources to attract outside funding and/or other resources appropriate to its
discipline? How will it attract regional, national, and/or international recognition for its
value?
How will the proposed program or program enhancement engage with issues that are
significant and matters of urgency to the various communities—local, regional, national
or international—that the University of North Florida serves?
2. Signatures and Endorsements: Flagship Proposals must include a signed letter of
endorsement from the chair or director and the dean.
3. Formatting and Submission:
 Length: 25 double-spaced pages, including an initial, two-page executive summary.
 Font and margins: 12-point, Times New Roman, and one-inch margins.
4. Submission and Deadline:
 One electronic copy emailed to Marianne Jaffee at mjaffee@unf.edu on or before
Monday, 14 February 2011, 5:00 pm.
 Six hard copies, also submitted to Marianne Jaffee on or before 14 February 2011, 5:00
pm.
III: Timeline for 2010-11
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 – Request for Proposals
Monday, February 14, 2011 – Deadline for Flagship Proposals
March 4, 2011– Flagship Committee forwards its recommendations to the Provost
April 1, 2011 – The President announces UNF’s next Flagship Program