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 laterthan 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-halfto 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