Leaves for Support of Faculty Scholarship
July 2008
Grinnell College offers several leave programs for regular, full-time faculty. This document describes these leave programs and policies in effect as of July 2008.
Leaves for Assistant Professors
Faculty members at the assistant professor rank initially appointed into full-time, regular (i.e., not temporary or replacement) faculty positions may apply for a Harris Fellowship or for a one-semester (3-course) Research Leave at full salary. Faculty members are eligible for either a Research Leave or a Harris Fellowship, not both.
Under normal circumstances (when they begin their appointments at Grinnell College having completed their terminal degree and counting no prior teaching experience as credit toward a tenure review), faculty members may apply for these leaves during their third and/or fourth years at Grinnell College and take a leave during the following year. Faculty members counting one year of prior teaching experience toward the tenure review are eligible to apply for Harris and Research Leaves in their third year and to take the leave in the fourth year. Those counting two years of prior teaching experience toward the tenure review are not eligible to apply for Research or Harris Fellowships.
Faculty who have not finished their terminal degree when first appointed to Grinnell and who elect not to count part of their teaching at Grinnell toward the tenure review, or faculty who otherwise delay their tenure review beyond their sixth year at the college, are eligible to apply for a Research Leave or a Harris Fellowship tenable in either of the two years prior to the year of the tenure review. Faculty in regular, full time, non-tenure track positions (such as PE faculty and Library faculty) are eligible to apply for a Research Leave or a Harris Fellowship tenable in the two years prior to the year they are reviewed for promotion to Associate Professor.
Normally, two Harris Fellowships will be awarded each year, selected from proposals submitted by eligible faculty. An announcement will be sent in late spring to eligible faculty, along with more detailed procedures and policies. Proposals are due in the Dean's Office by 5:00PM on the 1st Friday in August for a leave to be taken in the year following the competition year. Guidelines for application for the Harris Fellowship may be found at dean/supfac/oncampusopportunities/fac_leaves/harris_guides/. Proposals will be sent to external reviewers. The Committee for Support of Faculty Scholarship will consider the proposals and reviews and make a recommendation to the Dean and President. The Dean and President will consult with the Personnel Committee prior to selecting the faculty members to be appointed as Harris Fellows.
PLEASE NOTE: You are asked to let the Dean's Office know of your intention to apply for a Research Leave by the 3rd Friday in August, because application for these leaves affects review schedules. This notification of intent is very important, but does not bind you to apply for a leave, if you later decide not to do so.
Proposals for Research Leaves are due in the year prior to the leave. The Dean and President will approve such leaves after consultation with the Committee for Support of Faculty Scholarship and the Personnel Committee. Award of a Research Leave is contingent upon a successful complete review. Guidelines and current deadlines for application for a Research Leave may be found at http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/dean/supfac/oncampusopportunities/fac_leaves/jrresearch_guides/.
Leaves for Associate Professors and Professors
Sabbatical Leaves
Associate Professors and Professors in regular, full-time appointments are eligible for a first sabbatical leavein the year after they are promoted to Associate Professor, or their seventh year at the college, whichever is later. However, faculty members who have taken either a research leave or a Harris Fellowship are eligible for the first sabbatical leave in the second year after the year of a successful tenure review, or their eighth year at the College, whichever is later.
After the first sabbatical leave, faculty will be eligible for a sabbatical leave each seventh year. Sabbatical leaves provide full salary for one semester (3 course) or half salary for two semesters. Applications for sabbatical leaves are due in the Dean's Office by 5 PM of the 2nd Friday in November in the academic year prior to the year of the proposed leave. These will be reviewed by the Committee for Support of Faculty Scholarship. Guidelines and current deadlines for application for sabbatical leave may be found at http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/dean/supfac/oncampusopportunities/fac_leaves/sabbatical_guides/.
Academic Enterprise and Study Leaves
Faculty in regular full-time appointments are eligible to apply for one-semester (2 course) paid leaves under the academic enterprise or study leave programs. These leaves are to be used for scholarly projects and may either be coupled with a sabbatical leave to extend it to one year at full pay, or provide a leave in between regular sabbatical leaves. Normally, these leaves will not be awarded to faculty who have taken a sabbatical leave in the past two years or who will be eligible for a sabbatical leave in two years. Faculty taking academic enterprise or study leaves will normally be expected to continue with advising and modest service activities, but proposals which require long term absences and therefore cannot entail advising or service work will be considered. Requests for a complete severance from college service will require convincing substantiation.
Proposals for study leaves are due in the Dean's Office by 5:00 PM of the 3rd Friday in August in the academic year prior to the year the leave is requested. Proposals for academic enterprise leaves are due in the Dean's Office by 5:00 PM the third Friday in August in the academic year prior to the year the leave is requested. (The Departmental and Instructional Planning section of those proposals is due by 5 PM on the first Friday in October.) The Committee for Support of Faculty Scholarship will review proposals based upon the quality of the proposed project including the record of scholarly productivity. The Committee may request reviews of proposals by external reviewers. Detailed guidelines for application for academic enterprise leave proposals are available on the Dean's web page at dean/supfac/oncampusopportunities/fac_leaves/acad_enter_lv_guides/. Detailed guidelines for application for study leave proposals are available on the Dean's web page at dean/supfac/oncampusopportunities/fac_leaves/study_lv_guides/.
