Faculty Excellence Grants are submitted via the online submission portal available here (Chrome is the recommended browser). Filter for "Internal Applications."

Items on this webpage:

Cover Sheet

 

Title:                                                                                          

 

Name:                                                        Academic Unit:                 (Department, College or School)

Position:                                                     Email:      

Submission Round:                              Round 1 Spring ___      Round 2 Fall ___   

For funding beginning:       month        year                 Amount requested:           

Date of last FEG grant:       month        year

 

Project Summary (250 words)

GUIDELINES

The goal of FEGs is to enable faculty to engage in activities that will enhance scholarship. Faculty in all disciplines are eligible to submit proposals. 

FEG proposals are submitted TWICE A YEAR to offer faculty flexibility in planning for their success.

  • Round 1 - Submitted in the spring:The call for proposals comes out in early February and proposals are due from Deans in Faculty will be notified by the beginning of May and the funding will begin in July. These grants will need to be spent by June 30 of the next year.
  • Round 2 - Submitted in the fall:The call for proposals comes out at the end of September and proposals will be due from the Deans in Faculty will be notified by early December and the funding will begin in December. These grants will need to be spent by June 30 of the next year (~6 months).

Examples of activities include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Short-term (less than one month) visits to other laboratories or institutions for the purposes of acquiring new expertise or critical background knowledge.
  • Attendance at and/or presenting at a conference that represents a significant change in direction of scholarship is allowed. This program is not intended to support attendance at annual conferences in the applicant’s discipline or conferences that have been regularly attended by the applicant in the past.
  • Preparation and submission of a grant proposal in response to a request for proposals from federal, state or private entities.  
  • Completion and submission of a research paper to a peer-reviewed journal, or completion of a creative work.
  • Completion of a book.
  • Research into teaching, assessment, and/or pedagogy with a goal of public dissemination of the results (e.g., the scholarship of teaching and learning)
  • Travel to access specialized or unique resources (e.g., library special collections)
  • Attendance at and/or presenting at relevant workshops or programs (e.g., on pedagogical innovations or on research techniques)

FEGs can be used to fund any of the following as long as the activity is intended to enhance scholarship and aligns with MSU’s strategic plan.  Highest priorities are to support activities that directly impact scholarship. 

  • Equipment and supplies
  • Workshop registration costs
  • Travel – If permissible by MSU, travel can commence starting July 1 (Round 1) and January 1 (Round 2).
  • Student salaries

Funds cannot be used for course buyout or faculty summer salary.  

Please note:

  • Faculty that have received FEG funding in the last 2 years will be considered less of a priority.
  • A small portion of the funding is reserved to strengthen the research programs of women faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines and underrepresented areas of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS).

DISSEMINATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

 

Faculty who are successful in securing funding will be expected to submit a one-page statement of accomplishment to their Dean and [email protected]

by September 15 after the completion of the grant.

The Dean will evaluate the statement and notify the Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence if the accomplishment was acceptable performance.

PROPOSAL FORMAT AND PROCESS

FORMAT

The proposal should be written for a non-expert audience and includethe following (see template on page 5):

  • Cover page
  • a brief (one-page) overview that clearly describes the benefits to be gained from the proposed activities, a rationale based on the faculty member’s professional development goals, and the plan for sustaining the work beyond the grant year;
  • a budget summary(one-page);
  • brief CV (no more than 5 pages);and
  • a list of current and pending research grants with a statement of time devoted to the project (see also NSF Grant Proposal Guide II.C.2.h).Example of format of current and pending grants:
    1. Project Title: xxxxx
    2. Agency, Requested Amount, Start/End Dates: xxxxxx
    3. Location of Project: xxxxxxx
    4. Commitment: xx academic months and xx summer months OR xx calendar months

Please combine these items into one document in PDF format.

PROCESS

  1. Submit through InfoReady by the deadline.
  2. The Department Head/Chair/Directorwill review the submissions and create a prioritized list.The Department Head/Chair/Director’s ranking should provide an explanation of how each proposal will have a substantial impact on the individual’s scholarly activity and career. 
  3. Each Dean will review the requests from their college and create a prioritized list, including an explanation of the prioritization process and rationale which includes how the proposals would have a substantial impact on the individual’s scholarly activity and career.  Deans can consider input from others in the department for their ranking. 
  4. The faculty committee will review the proposals and make recommendations for funding.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following criteria are used for review of applications:

Dean’s Ranking

  • Deans provide comments supporting the ranking of proposals from their college. The FEG Committee places a high level of importance on these rankings.

Previous Faculty Excellence Grant Awardees

  • Faculty that received FEG funding in the last 2 years will be considered less of a priority.
  • Letters of Accomplishments will be reviewed for faculty who have received funding the last 5 years.

 Planning and Organization

  • How organized is the proposed activity?
  • Has there been adequate practical planning and intellectual preparation to carry out the project?
  • Are there adequate resources to accomplish the project in the allotted time?

Scholarly Impact

  • How well does the project contribute to advancing the faculty member’s scholarship?

Budget

  • How detailed is the budget?
  • Is it well justified?

NOTIFICATION TIMELINE

Faculty awardees will be notified by email of the decision no later than early May for spring proposals or early December for fall proposals.   

ROUND 1: Funds will be transferred to departments in September. Travel can commence starting July1.

ROUND 2:Funds will be transferred to departments in December Travel can comment starting January 1.

 

PROPOSAL TEMPLATE

Use of this template is optional and provided as a guide only for the format of the proposal.

COVER PAGE (see page 1)

OVERVIEW (one-page)

Description of the proposed work

 

Timeline of Activities

 

Benefits to be gained from the proposed activities including connections to MSU’s strategic plan

 

Rationale based on the faculty member’s professional development goals

 

Plan for sustaining the work beyond the grant year

 

BUDGET SUMMARY AND JUSTIFICATION (one-page)

 

BRIEF CV (no more than 5 pages)

 

CURRENT AND PENDING RESEARCH GRANTS

(if you don’t have any grants, please indicate that here and leave the rest of the page blank)

 

CURRENT

  1. Project Title: xxxxx

Agency: xxxxxx

Amount: xxxxxx

Start/End Dates: xxxxxx

Location of Project: xxxxxxx

Commitment: xx academic months and xx summer months OR xx calendar months

 

PENDING

  1. Project Title: xxxxx

Agency: xxxxxx

Amount: xxxxxx

Start/End Dates: xxxxxx

Location of Project: xxxxxxx

Commitment: xx academic months and xx summer months OR xx calendar months