Procedure for Application for Research Leaves for Assistant Professors

Regular, full-time, untenured faculty possessing the terminal degree who are not yet eligible for regular sabbatical leave, who will have completed two years of continuous service at Grinnell, and who have received less than two years of prior teaching credit toward tenure at Grinnell are eligible to apply for a one-semester (3 course) research leave. Faculty on standard review schedules are eligible to apply in their third or fourth year. Faculty with one year credit for prior teaching may apply in their third year only. Faculty with two years credit for prior teaching are ineligible to apply. Faculty who have not counted all their years at Grinnell toward tenure are eligible to apply three and two years prior to the year of their 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 tenable in the two years prior to the year they are reviewed for promotion to Associate Professor. If a faculty member intends to apply for a Research Leave, it is extremely important that they inform both the Dean's Office AND their department chair of their intention no later than the 3rd Friday in August, as such applications affect review schedules.

Grinnell College regards research leaves as a privilege granted upon the submission of an appropriate justification for the leave, not as an automatic entitlement. Such justification should take the form of (typically) a one-and-a-half to two-page letter addressed to the Dean of the College. Research leave proposals will be reviewed by the Committee for the Support of Faculty Scholarship (CSFS) upon receipt, but should be submitted by 5:00 PM on the 2nd Friday in November of the year prior to the anticipated leave. In the letter, the applicant should

  • indicate which semester is preferred for the leave;
  • explain the nature of the work to be undertaken during the leave;
  • specify the location of residence during the proposed leave; and
  • state the scholarly product(s) which are expected to result from the proposed leave.

The applicant should submit a current curriculum vitae with the letter of application.

Longer statements of proposed scholarly work may be attached to the application (but are not required); however, the application letter must summarize the proposed project in succinct, non-technical, jargon-free language, not simply refer to a longer, technical description attached.

Research leave applications will be reviewed by the Committee for the Support of Faculty Scholarship, which will advise the Dean of the College whether it deems the application appropriate for approval. Award of a research leave is contingent upon a successful complete review. A written report on the leave should be presented to the Dean of the College by February 1 (for fall semester leaves) or July 1 (for spring semester leaves).

The committee may ask the Dean of the College to return for revision applications which do not meet these guidelines.

Last updated - November, 2003