Faculty Resources Faculty Development

The Goals of our Faculty Development Program

Faculty professional development at Westmont takes many forms, focusing on a range of concerns, from teaching to disciplinary research to more general intellectual growth.  The Provost’s Office provides resources and encouragement to faculty in the pursuit of these interests.  Some resources support scholarly research and participation in disciplinary guilds.  Other funds seek to foster conversations and collaborative projects with Westmont colleagues.  In all these activities, we seek to nurture a creative community of faculty, whose individual scholarship and teaching are enriched by engagement with one other.

Reimbursements

To be reimbursed for expenses, submit receipts, an itemized expense list, and a reimbursement request to the Provost's Office. Please provide all documents in the form of 8.5x11-inch pdfs or paper. If submitting requests electronically, please email them to provost@westmont.edu

Reports

Please email reports on sabbatical and professional development grants within three months of completing the sabbatical or grant period. Reports should briefly describe activities and summarize the goals achieved. Please email reports to Eileen McQuade.

Past reports are available here:

Sabbatical Reports

Professional Development Grant Reports

Program Descriptions

Teaching, Research, and Reading Groups (applications due October 1)

These groups consist of three to five faculty who meet together to support one another’s teaching, scholarship, and general intellectual growth.  A teaching group would explore or experiment with a pedagogical practice, perhaps seeking to make use of a “flipped” approach to the classroom or experimenting with a particular technological tool.  Members of a research group share works-in-progress with one another, providing feedback on a drafts, helping think through gaps in an argument, or suggesting questions or resources that might enhance the project.  Reading groups select one or more books of common interest and meet to discuss them. 

Each group will receive up to $1000 to spend on expenses related to its activities.  Groups may, for example, purchase books, share meals, travel to a nearby conference together, or organize a mini-retreat. They are encouraged to plan some means of sharing the results of their time together with the wider Westmont community. 

Groups are free to shape their own goals and the structure of the group’s meetings, but should commit to meeting at least four times.  Preference will be given to groups that draw faculty from more than one department.

To apply for funding, submit an application to the Professional Development Committee via Eileen McQuade.

The committee will begin reviewing proposals October 1. Groups will be notified of approval within three weeks of submitting proposals.

Sabbatical Leave (applications due October 1)

A sabbatical leave is an investment by the College in the quality of instruction and scholarship of the faculty.  It also provides a time of renewal for the faculty member.

Subject to approval of the Professional Development Committee (PDC), the Provost, the President, and the Board of Trustees, tenured faculty are eligible for a sabbatical after six years (or equivalent) of full-time service since initial appointment or the most recent sabbatical. Faculty on multi-year contracts are eligible for their first sabbatical during the ninth year of employment, after completing three consecutive multi-year contract periods. Thereafter, they are eligible subject to the conditions specified for tenured faculty. Faculty are eligible to apply for a semester-long sabbatical at full pay, or a year-long sabbatical at half pay.

When an eligible faculty member submits a proposal to the PDC, a positive recommendation is not automatically granted.  The project must be of sufficient scope and likely significant impact to warrant the release from normal duties.  The faculty member will be given an opportunity to address any minor questions or concerns the PDC has.  A proposal for which the PDC has major concerns will be sent back to the faculty member with feedback and the faculty member will be invited to re-submit a new proposal addressing the concerns.  If the PDC still decides to not recommend approval and the Provost agrees, then the faculty member will be encouraged to apply again the following year.

Further information about the sabbatical policy is available in the Faculty Handbook in section 2.5.1.1.

To apply, submit an application to the Professional Development Committee via Eileen McQuade.

Sabbatical Research Grant (included as addendum to a sabbatical request; due October 1st)

These grants are available to faculty members who will be receiving sabbaticals in the upcoming academic year. They are intended to provide a pool of funds for expenses in sabbatical projects that will significantly advance a faculty member’s scholarship, or move a faculty member’s scholarship in a new and promising direction. These funds might be used towards reasonable travel costs essential to research and scholarship, research-related material purchases (paint, software, books), etc.  These funds cannot be used as a stipend.

Similar to Professional Development Grants, requests for Sabbatical Funding Grants can be made for up to $3600.  Amounts awarded are not pre-determined, but will depend on the scope of the proposal and the promise of significant results. Funds for approved grants are available from May 15 to August 15 of the following academic year, unless otherwise arranged through the Provost’s Office. Unused funds will be returned to the Provost’s budget.

The Sabbatical Research Grant process has become increasingly competitive over the past few years. Because of the increasingly high caliber of scholarly projects proposed and because these draw on the same pool of funds as professional development grants, these sabbatical grants are limited. As a result, proposals will be evaluated in terms of the following criteria:

  • The need for funding in order to complete measurable results for the proposed project (ideally, publication in a refereed journal, presentations at an academic professional meeting, progress on a major artistic project or series of works)
  • The significance and timeliness of the proposed project for the field to which it is a contribution.
  • The significance and timeliness of the proposed project for the applicant’s professional development.
  • The plans for disseminating the results by means of publication or some other public presentation, including a projected timeline.
  • Quality of evidence of productively using professional development or sabbatical funding awards in the past.

To apply, include this application as an addendum to your sabbatical request. submitted to the Professional Development Committee via Eileen McQuade.

Professional Development Grants (applications due November 1)

Professional Development Grants (PDGs) support scholarly and curricular projects. These may include but are not limited to disciplinary research projects, artistic productions, faculty/student collaborative research, curricular enhancements, and external grant-writing stipends.  Applicants for the PDG can request funding at three different levels: $1200, $2400, and $3600. The three tiers are meant to fund projects of different sizes and scopes as well as to reflect the wider impact and significance of the project.  A general description of the PDG funding levels can be found here.  Applicants will be notified of decisions by January 10. Funds from grants are available (as stipends or expense reimbursements) beginning May 15, and should be spent by May 15 of the following year, unless otherwise arranged through the Provost’s Office. A report describing the results and accomplishments of the proposed project is due by May 30 after the grant has expired.

In order to apply for a PDG, a faculty member must wait until after the completion of a prior Professional Development Grant project year (i.e. apply Nov. 1st, 2016; grant period from May 15th, 2017-May 15th, 2018; can apply again Nov. 1st, 2018)

The application process for PDGs has become increasingly competitive over the past few years. Because of the large number of projects proposed, these grants are limited. Preference is given to first-time applicants. Applications will be evaluated in terms of the following criteria:

  • The significance and timeliness of the proposed project for the field to which it is a contribution.
  • The significance and timeliness of the proposed project for the applicant’s professional development.
  • The plans for project implementation or dissemination of the project’s results, including a projected timeline.
  • Quality of evidence of productively using professional development or sabbatical funding awards in the past.

Grant proposals requesting that funding be used for release time should explain why the requested teaching reduction is appropriate for the proposed project, and explain why more intensive work over a semester is important (compared to the normal pace of regular scholarship expected of all faculty).  Include a work plan that provides evidence of your ability to complete the proposed project during the semester in which the release time is taken. 

To apply, submit an application to the Professional Development Committee via Eileen McQuade.

Professional Development Account

Annual Allotments
Full-time faculty receive $500 per year to use for memberships in professional organizations, journal subscriptions and travel to professional conferences.  Up to $1000 may be carried over to the next year. 

Supplementary Funds
Up to $1000 per year of additional money is available to full-time faculty for travel expenses to conferences at which the faculty member is reading a paper, leading session, or participating as a member of an organizational ruling body.  Supplementary funds cannot be carried over to the next year.

Extraordinary Funds
A limited amount of money is available for faculty who wish to take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity to participate in a professional activity and need funds beyond the amounts described above.  To apply, submit a one-page proposal to the Professional Development Committee (via the Vice Provost).  Include a brief description of the conference or activity, how you plan to participate, and an explanation of why this opportunity is extraordinary.  The proposal should also provide a brief account of how your annual allotment of professional development funds and your supplementary funds are being used.  Please indicate a date by which you must know whether extraordinary funds can be made available to you.

Reimbursements
To draw on the funds, submit receipts, an itemized expense list, and a reimbursement request to the Provost's Office. Please provide all documents in the form of 8.5x11-inch pdfs or paper. Please do not tape or staple smaller receipts to 8.5x11-inch paper.

Library Cubicles

Available on a semester-by-semester basis, cubicles provide a private study space in Voskuyl Library.  The Professional Development Committee reviews applications September 1 and continues until cubicles are filled or need arises. Applicant Applications forms are available here.

Innovative Edges Grant (applications due February 15)

All academic disciplines undergo continual change, as knowledge expands, new theories and methodologies emerge, and scholars venture across disciplinary boundaries. Liberal arts colleges face the challenge of sustaining majors that focus on the essential content and praxis of their academic fields, while remaining alert to the innovative edges in the disciplines. We do not want to let our curricula spiral into endless sub-specialties, even as we need to ensure that our students are aware of the disciplinary advances that they will encounter in graduate school and in professional endeavors.

The Innovative Edges grant provides some funds each year (up to $4000) to departments that will be committed to revising one or more of the required courses in the major to address innovations in the disciplines. The development of entirely new courses that would replace current courses or fit within departmental teaching loads can also be considered. Grants can be used as stipends to support the time and effort needed for the revisions, and they can be used to support some of the activities related to the revision. For instance, a faculty member may choose to attend special workshops or conferences, audit courses, travel to consult with experts, or purchase reading materials or other resources. The proposed revisions can concentrate on the content of the curricula or on pedagogy. Some projects may undertake revisions based on their Six-year Reviews or the advice of external evaluators.

A grant proposal should be written by the chair and addressed to Eileen McQuade and the Professional Development Committee and should include the following:

  • A one-page summary of the project. What course or courses will be considered for refinement? What are the new dimensions or innovative edges that are being explored? Who will be the faculty engaged with the project?
  • A short budget, identifying how the funds will be spent. What activities will the grant support? How much (if any) will be taken as stipend (and by whom)?
  • A short (one-paragraph) timetable, identifying when the project will be completed and who is responsible for which parts of the project.
  • A copy of the current syllabus for any course being proposed for refinement. Upon completion of the project, the department will be required to submit a one-page summary of the work done and a copy of any revised syllabus. Expense reimbursements can be submitted to the Provost’s Office as they occur; stipends will be paid after submission of the final summary and syllabi.

Grant applications are due by February 15.

Interdisciplinary Conversations

As we continue to look for ways to expose students to the richness of the liberal arts, we want to encourage some interdisciplinary dialogues in our existing courses.  As part of this effort, we invite you to find a colleague in another department who would spend at least two class sessions in your course conversing with you about a relevant topic and modeling for the students the ways that faculty who bring different perspectives to an issue talk together.

Faculty who engaged in these interdisciplinary conversations in spring 2016 included Don Patterson and Felicia Song who engaged the Computer Science senior seminar on questions about the different ways that sociologists and computer scientists approach the issues surrounding digital advertising. Chris Milner invited Mary Docter to join her Special Populations class, which included students who had studied with Mary in the Westmont in Mexico program. They considered how the concept of "locus of control"—common in American psychological discourse—is seen differently when viewed through a lens of cultural anthropology. Lisa DeBoer joined Caryn Reeder's Church in the New Testament class, and she brought along the recent Nairobi document on church and culture; that led into a conversation on church architecture, art, and worship, and how theology gets formed in the intersection of these areas.

We would like to sponsor five to ten collaborations this year.  The guest faculty member receives a $100 stipend for each class visit when the collaboration is complete ($500 max).  To apply, the host faculty member should send a brief description of the conversation to Eileen McQuade. Include:

  • The course in which the conversation will occur;
  • The faculty member you plan to partner with;
  • The topic of the conversation, including readings or other material on which it will be based;
  • The approximate dates of the conversation (e.g., late October).

At the conclusion, please send a brief report of the experience that includes the dates of the class visits, a summary of the topics covered, and a few highlights from the conversations.

The stipend to the guest faculty member will be issued upon submission of the report.

Conference travel awards for students

Students who are conducting a large research project under the supervision of a faculty member might benefit from presenting their results at a local, regional, or even national professional conference.  The Provost office will provide individual awards of up to $400 for conference registration fees, lodging, and travel.  Recipients must be current students at the time of the conference or within 3 months of graduating.  They also must be presenting their work as a poster, oral presentation, or paper.  To apply for the funds, students should send an email to Dr. Eileen McQuade with the conference details, an itemized budget, and a 100-200 word description of the work they will be presenting.  A short letter of support from the sponsoring faculty member must also be provided.   Students are also encouraged to apply for supplemental funds from the relevant academic department.  Approximately $2500 of awards will be available annually.