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LSA Associate Professor Support Fund (APSF)
2011-12 Program
Application Deadline: Thursday, March 1, 2012
Review by Divisional Evaluation Committee: last two weeks of March
Notification of awards: Friday, April 6, 2012
Effective Date of Awards: Summer/Fall 2012
By virtue of their newly-won tenure, associate professors are well positioned to pursue the next phase of
their research programs. At the same time, they are expected to take on added administrative
responsibilities and, in many cases, to tackle new teaching tasks while strategically preparing for promotion
to the rank of full professor.
The associate professor support fund (APSF) acknowledges these new responsibilities of the rank and is
intended to enhance the research support for associate professors, so that they can take fuller advantage
of the opportunities afforded by tenure and move expeditiously to the next rank.
Associate professors may apply for funding at any time following promotion to that rank, but are, in
general, expected to apply only once. Departments should develop procedures to advise Associate
Professors on the optimal time to apply. It is important that the application is timed in such a way that it
will have the biggest impact on the research program and work that will be presented during the process
for promotion to full professor. NOTE: Faculty who received an APSF award last year or who are
currently under review for promotion in AY 2011-12, or who will be considered for promotion in AY 201213, are not eligible to apply for APSF. Please address any questions to the relevant divisional Associate
Dean.
The utilization of these awards will depend on disciplinary expectations and on the research needs of the
associate professor. The following paragraphs summarize the types of applications that are anticipated.
Alternatives that are consistent with the spirit of these proposals but are better tailored to the needs of an
individual associate professor are welcome. In every case, requests for support should be accompanied by
a budget worksheet (attached) and budget justification (see sample) which will include a description of
the proposed research project, a detailed explanation of how this project fits into the associate professor’s
broader research program, what progress on the project has already been made, how the requested award
will further this research agenda and what part this work will play in the ultimate promotion to full
professor. Funds should generally be expended within two years; if a project requires more time, this
requirement should be explained at the time of application.
In general, funds from this program cannot be used to reduce teaching. In some cases, these funds may be
most useful if coupled with a sabbatical leave. As part of a research plan and with permission of the
relevant unit(s) a faculty member’s first sabbatical at this rank may be postponed without loss of equity
toward the next one. Similarly for those associate professors close to eligibility for their second sabbatical
at this rank some acceleration of that sabbatical may be permitted (on the understanding that the faculty
member’s third sabbatical will be delayed by the same period as the acceleration of this second one.)
Associate Professors wishing to explore this possibility should discuss this with their chair.
The faculty member’s department chair must evaluate this proposal and, therefore, the faculty applicant
should discuss these plans with the chair well in advance of the application. Proposals for projects greater
than $30,000 must also have unit level and/or other commitments for a minimum of 25% of total costs.
In addition, funding for summer salary will not be approved for any proposals above $30,000. Faculty
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with joint appointments should request evaluations (and additional support, if relevant) from both of their
chairs.
Humanities: In much of the humanities, associate professors are expected to either finish, or at least make
substantial progress towards a series of major articles or a second book manuscript in order to be
promoted to professor. It is expected that the APS funds will be used to complete a major project that will
be important in their next faculty promotion. In this division, faculty can apply for summer ninths (no more
than two); funds for a graduate or undergraduate research assistant (no more than a .50 GSRA for nine
months); funds for editorial or translation work; or funds to permit study at a distant site (e.g., a gallery or
archive). We envision making 8-12 awards per year in the $20,000-$30,000 range. Please note that
budgeted salaries should include fringe benefits and that there are additional budget justification
requirements for requests greater than $30,000. Faculty who apply for this award may also apply to the
Institute for the Humanities, the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies, or for the Michigan
Humanities Award in the same year, assuming they meet those eligibility requirements. All leaves remain
subject to the college leave policy.
Social sciences: Faculty in the Social Sciences engage in a variety of types of scholarship, ranging from field
work to survey research to experiments in the laboratory. Some work in book disciplines, which require
them to travel to distant archives or field locations; some produce articles, often in collaboration with
colleagues here and elsewhere. Given the diversity of research methods in the social sciences, awards in
this discipline may involve summer ninths (no more than two); funds for a graduate or undergraduate
research assistant (no more than a .50 GSRA for nine months); money for travel to complete fieldwork or to
work with collaborators housed at other universities; or funds to retool methodologically by attending
workshops and seminars in alternative methods. It is expected that the APS funds will help the applicant to
make substantial progress on a major project that will be important in their next faculty promotion. We
envision making 8-12 awards per year in the $20,000-$30,000 range. Please note that budgeted salaries
should include fringe benefits and that there are additional budget justification requirements for
requests greater than $30,000. Faculty who apply for this award may also apply to the Institute for the
Humanities, the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies, or for the Michigan Humanities Award in the
same year, assuming they meet those eligibility requirements. All leaves remain subject to the college
leave policy.
Natural sciences: Recognizing the importance of research funds for initiating new ventures in the sciences,
LSA has created, with generous support from the estate of Margaret and Herman Sokol, a fund to invest in
the research initiatives of recently promoted associate professors in the natural sciences. We envision
making 5-7 awards per year in the $20,000-$100,000 range with an average award of $75,000. Please
note that budgeted salaries should include fringe benefits and that there are additional budget
justification requirements for requests greater than $30,000. The primary intent of this investment is to
enable associate professors to pursue new ideas or initiate a new research direction. It is expected that the
APS funds will help the applicant to make substantial progress on a major project that will be important in
their next faculty promotion. Examples of appropriate proposals include acquiring major equipment, new
instrumentation, organizing a research meeting which brings experts to campus, or reconfiguring a
laboratory. All leaves remain subject to the college leave policy.
Review procedures
Required components of the application below should be submitted to the chair/director who will add the
required confidential letter of evaluation and forward the application to the divisional associate dean.
Departments may establish procedures within the unit to prioritize applications. Proposals will be reviewed
by the appropriate Divisional Evaluation Committee once a year.
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APSF APPLICATION CHECKLIST
Completed
1. PROPOSAL NARRATIVE – (4 pages maximum)
2. BUDGET WORKSHEET – (attach to application materials)
3. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION – (2 pages maximum)
4. COMPLETE TEACHING & SERVICE RECORD for last 5 years including course
enrollments – (attach to application materials)
5. CONFIDENTIAL LETTER OF EVALUATION from relevant chairs/directors
commenting on the timing of the request and the faculty member’s project as it
relates to readiness for the next promotion – (1 page maximum)
6. FOR PROPOSALS WITH A BUDGET >$30K – Signoff of chair(s) indicating support
for a minimum of 25% cost sharing to be included in Chair/director letter
APSF WORKSHEET BUDGET SUMMARY
Category
APF Request
Other Support*
(Department, etc.)
Professional Salaries & Fringe
Student Salaries & Fringe
Travel
Supplies/Materials
Equipment
Other (itemize in justification)
TOTAL
*Indicate if non-LSA support is pending or confirmed.
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BUDGET JUSTIFICATION: (Not to exceed two pages for amounts up to $30,000; no more than three pages
for amounts exceeding $30,000)
A narrative, following the model of the Budget Justification Template should be attached to this form
which fully explains the relationship of costs to the proposed activity and the basis for cost estimates.
PROPOSAL NARRATIVE*: (Not to exceed four pages)
A narrative should be attached to this form which provides a concise description of the research,
scholarship, or creative activity, including:
a. Statement of nature, objectives, and expected outcome of proposed research activity;
b. Description of the significance of proposed research in the discipline;
c. Explanation of how this project fits into the associate professor’s broader research program and
what part of this work will play in the ultimate promotion to full professor, including clarification of
whether the proposed investment will enable a new research direction or the completion of an
ongoing project; and
d. Detailed timeline for accomplishing objectives (Plans should acknowledge that the funds requested
should generally be expended within two years from the date of award).
*For project requests exceeding $30,000, please note the following additional criteria which must be
addressed in the narrative to be considered for funding.
e. What is the likely long-term impact of the proposed investment? Priority will be given to projects
from investigators with a track record of external funding and proposals deemed likely to generate
significant amounts of new external funding.
f.
Is there broad support for this (i.e., are other units and individuals also contributing to the cost of
the project)? The amount of other contributions will depend on the details of the proposal, with a
required minimum contribution of 25% of the total cost by the faculty member’s department(s) and
other relevant units.
g. For large requests, preference will be given to investments in research infrastructure that affect
more than one faculty member over one-time expenditures (e.g., salaries).
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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SUPPORT FUND
SAMPLE BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
PERSONNEL:
Firstname SURNAME, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Professor Surname will coordinate and supervise all aspects of this project. BRIEF LIST OF SPECIFIC THINGS
THAT WILL BE DONE IN SUMMER MONTH(S) PER THE NARRATIVE. Support for 1 month of summer salary
(AY SALARY/9 plus FRINGE BENEFITS @28% of AY SALARY) is requested for these functions.
Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) – Candidate only
GSRA support is requested for PURPOSE (e.g., a student fluent in Chinese who will be responsible for
creating a corpus of articles and editorials from a cross-section of newspapers in 5 Chinese cities that
address TOPIC so that we can analyze xxx). Support for 0.5 effort of a post-candidate GSRA is required for
9 months = GSRA AY salary*0.5 plus FRINGE BENEFITS @30% of GSRA SALARY) is requested.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Temporary/hourly research assistants will be hired on an “as needed” basis to take primary responsibility
for PURPOSE (e.g., testing of participants in a Psychology experiment). Hours are based on XXX (e.g., the
participant hours calculated for each study in this proposal). A total of XXX hours are requested. Total
undergraduate RA costs are estimated at $XXX (e.g., $XXX = 320 total participants*1.5 hours per participant
* $X/hour (plus 8 percent FICA)).
EQUIPMENT:
ERP system – Funds are requested to purchase 1 ERP system from Cortech/Bio-Semi ($45,088 plus $3,310
for supplies). This amount includes the ActiveTwo 32+ 8 channel EEG base system, which is both more
cost-effective and appropriate for pediatric recording than systems with larger numbers (64, 128 channels)
of electrodes. This equipment is itemized together with additional components listed under supplies in the
attached quote from Cortech. This system is ideal for our purposes because xxx. Cost-sharing has been
obtained from LSA’s Department of XXX. A total of $20,000 is requested from LSA for this equipment.
SUPPLIES:
LCD Projector and screen @2,300; 2 desktop computers (Mac) @$1,400 each; Speakers/Yamaha MSP3 (2
sets @ $170/ea), Noise cancelling headphones (2), $150; SONY Mini-DV Camcorders, 2 @$1,000/each;
Computer software, $1,000; and general supplies, including recording DVD’s, portable hard drives, etc.),
$1,387. In addition, $3,310 of ERP supplies (electrodes, gel, etc., as itemized in invoice from Cortech).
TRAVEL:
I plan to travel to Japan two times in 2012 and 2013, for a total of 35 days, to observe significant
cultural events (xx, xx), spend 10 days working in the xx archives, and interview key players. The cost of this
travel is estimated as follows:
Roundtrip airfare, 2 trips at $1,600 each = $3,200
Lodging, 35 nights at $150 = $5250
Per diem, 35 days at an average of $110 per day = $3850
Ground travel between airport and Kyoto, 2 trips at $300 per round-trip $600
Inter-city travel between Kobe, Kyoto, and Tokyo, by train or bus, 2 trips at $300 per trip $600
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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SUPPORT FUND
SAMPLE BUDGET JUSTIFICATION CONT’D.
OTHER:
While I am in Japan, I will collect archival documents and acquire copies of relevant publications and
materials that are not available in the United States. In addition, I will be conducting online interviews with
Japanese and non-Japanese professionals involved in disaster relief during 3 periods from 2007-2011. I
estimate these costs as follows:
Japanese books and DVDs not available elsewhere $600
Photocopying documents in Japan, 500 pages at $0.25 each = $125
Mailing or baggage costs for shipping books and documents to US = $60
Recruitment of participants (advertising costs) $600;
Online interviews of 50-60 interviews @$10/interview
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