Internal Grants

Purpose

Faculty members may apply for support to attend professional meetings or engage in other professional development activities that can enhance the quality of the faculty member’s teaching, scholarship, or creative activity. Active participation in conference programs is especially encouraged. Faculty may also travel to conduct university business, such as recruiting new faculty. Faculty are urged to be thoughtful and prudent in planning trips and expenses.

Eligibility

Any full-time faculty member or any faculty member who has taught at Lawrence for half-time or more for at least three consecutive years is eligible to apply for funds through the Provost's Office.

Expenses

Expenses are covered up to a maximum of $1,500 for domestic travel and $1,800 for international travel each academic year. Exceptions to these limits will be made only in extraordinary circumstances at the discretion of the Provost. Expenses must conform to the university travel policy, and reimbursement is for actual expenses only, accompanied by original receipts.

Eligible expenses include:

• transportation (economy class airfare, rental vehicle up to $200, personal vehicle up to 200 miles each way)
• lodging
• meals (within the limits set forth in the travel policy)
• ground transportation, tolls, and parking
• conference fees

Expenses not covered include rental car costs or personal vehicle mileage beyond the established limits; meal costs in excess of the established limits; upgrades like first or business class travel, room service, or limousine service; and personal items. Faculty travel grants may not be used for student travel, which may be supported by other funds.

Grants must be used for the purposes for which they are allocated. Any change in destination or activity should be reported in advance to the Provost for approval; if additional funding is needed, a new application should be submitted. Faculty members who have received a grant but find themselves unable to travel should notify the Provost's Office so that funds can be redistributed. Non-refundable airline tickets may be exchanged for new tickets for the same individuals for approved professional travel, and faculty members are responsible for paying airline change fees unless the change resulted from illness or other unforeseeable circumstances.

For reimbursement, see Spending & Reporting.

Don't forget that If you are using internal or external grant funds to support a summer research student, you must also complete the Grant Statement for Student Summer Employment (PDF) or (Word).

Purpose

Lawrence offers funds to encourage the scholarly and creative endeavors of its faculty. These funds are typically granted with the expectation that the project will culminate in a publication, presentation, exhibition, or performance. Requests will be evaluated according to the faculty member's previous record in research and publication or performance. Preference will be given to those who are qualified and untenured and who have not received research funds in the past, and to those whose applications for outside funding have been denied.

Eligibility

Support is for specific projects undertaken by full-time members of the faculty. Funding for research while on leave may not be eligible. Faculty members who have non-renewable appointments of less than two years are not eligible for support. Interested faculty should discuss their plans with the Provost before applying.

Expenses

Expenses are covered for a maximum of $4,000 per year, with exceptions made only for unusual circumstances. Grants must be expended in the current fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) unless applying for a multi-year grant.

Expenses covered include:

• Transportation: economy airfare, university vehicle rental, or personal vehicle mileage up to 200 miles each way; taxi or rental car allowable up to $200
• Accommodations or short-term living expenses: hotel up to $125/day for a maximum of 14 days, or short-term living expenses up to $1,700
• Student summer wages at the current university rate: $4,000 for 10 weeks @ 40 hours per week, or a prorated amount; summer research assistance that starts in June requires a multi-year grant
• Materials, supplies, and services: small equipment, lab supplies, software, copying, transcribing, and approved research materials

Covered expenses do not include meals or room service; personal computers; faculty salaries; wages to a Lawrence employee for clerical support in the production of a book, manuscript, CD, etc. (due to the conflict-of-interest policy); purchase of reprints of faculty publications; publication page costs (except in disciplines where publication is otherwise impossible); and research or other work toward completion of a doctoral dissertation.

Faculty members may apply for support for the publication of scholarly books or articles or the creation of CD’s or DVD’s or other materials resulting from scholarly or creative activity if insufficient support is provided by the publisher. If a faculty member receives royalties for the publication, the faculty member is expected to reimburse the Provost's Office for publication support that has been provided. Royalties that exceed the amount of support provided may be retained by the faculty member.

Funding is disbursed during the fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) that the grant is approved. For a multi-year project, funds are disbursed according to the projected budget summary. Applicants for multi-year grants should provide a total cost of the project along with a yearly breakout of the budget requested, and they should not exceed each fiscal year’s approved expenses. Additional funds may be available through endowed program and project funds for projects that qualify.

For reimbursement, see Spending & Reporting.

Don't forget that If you are using internal or external grant funds to support a summer research student, you must also complete the Grant Statement for Student Summer Employment (PDF) or (Word).

Purpose

These grants support faculty undertaking a significant revision or innovation of a set of courses, a new curricular program, or a new course that will involve more than one faculty member. Most of the funds will be devoted to faculty workshops that support broader curricular revision and innovation. Curricular development grants may subsidize the work of individual faculty members who are undertaking new teaching assignments beyond the normal range of their curricular expertise.

Sample activities include:

•     revising the organization or array of courses in a department or program
•     devising new components for a department’s or program's curriculum
•     expanding curricular connections with other departments or programs
•     developing team-taught or collaborative courses, within a discipline or across disciplinary lines
•     revising the general education requirements and ways to meet them
•     developing proposals for new interdisciplinary areas or majors

These funds are not intended to support the development or revision of single courses taught by individual faculty members because these activities fall within a faculty member's normal professional responsibilities.

Eligibility

Support is for curricular development projects undertaken by full-time members of the faculty. Faculty members who have non-renewable appointments of less than two years may not apply but may participate in workshops supported by these funds. Interested faculty should discuss their plans with the Provost before applying.

Expenses

Expenses are covered for a maximum of $2,500 per summer or academic year. Eligible expenses include books and other materials, office supplies, catering, use of facilities, site visits, and modest stipends for organizers and participants in workshops.

For reimbursement, see Spending & Reporting.

Purpose

Each fall, the Provost's Office invites faculty to apply for Lawrence University Research Fellows, student research assistants who can work on faculty projects or faculty-student collaborative projects for up to ten weeks in the summer.  LU Research Fellows are supported by a mix of Provost's Office funds, restricted funds, and external grants, and every faculty member with a viable project can anticipate receiving at least one LU Research Fellow.  Currently, an external grant will also support LU Research Fellows to work on natural science projects for three weeks in December; these should be students working on continuing research with Lawrence faculty.

Eligibility

Any full-time faculty member or any faculty member who has taught at Lawrence for half-time or more for at least three consecutive years is eligible to apply for funds through the Provost's Office.

Expenses

Applications may include reasonable expenses for materials or travel needed for student work on the project. This does not include student conference travel, for which there is a separate application process described in the LU-RF handbook. Expenses must conform to university policies, and reimbursement is for actual expenses only, accompanied by original receipts. LU Research Fellows placed with faculty at other universities are eligible for a standard travel and housing allowance in addition to the stipend.

Grants must be used for the purposes for which they are allocated. Any change in project should be reported in advance to the Provost for approval; if additional funding is needed, a new application should be submitted. Faculty members who have received a grant but find themselves unable to use it should notify the Provost's Office so that funds can be redistributed.