Support for Scholarship and Creative Activity

FDE grants are competitive awards that promote faculty development by supporting professional activity. FDE supported projects are normally carried out over an eight-week period during the summer and can be extended throughout the following academic year. The grant provides funding which may be used for faculty stipends and/or research-related expenses. Proposals are typically due mid-January. Contact the chair of the Faculty Development Committee, Becky Klatzkin, for more information.

The goal of the MSS Grant is to support the scholarly agendas of mid- to late-career faculty members to foster engagement in scholarship over the duration of their careers.  This one-year award is designed to support Associate Professors and Professors to reinvigorate the scholarship programs, retool for future work, or initiate a new line of study or creative activity.  Contact the chair of the Faculty Development Committee, Becky Klatzkin, for more information.

Funded by a Mellon Foundation grant, this project supports curricular transformation and community partnership through the creation of new classes and community engaged projects that address the disparities that impair human health and flourishing and that contribute to building a culture of equity.  Contact grant coordinator, Kendra Hotz, for more information.

The purpose of the Buckman International Curricular Development grants is to help faculty members develop new or enhance existing courses which either provide Rhodes students with educational experiences abroad or include substantial global content. At their best, proposals are entrepreneurial in spirit, seeking to provide faculty with the resources to develop new and innovative approaches to international education. To learn more about these grants, please contact Erin Hillis.

Writing groups have been shown to be greatly beneficial and appreciated by their participants. Faculty make time to prioritize writing, work in a dedicated spot where visitors are not constantly stopping by, and set writing goals with their peers. This fall, OFD will host writing groups starting September 6th/7th in Southwestern Conference Room 301 on Tuesdays 8:30-10:30 am and Wednesdays 1:00-3:00 pm. For more information, contact David Kabelik. 

In an effort to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, our office encourages the creation of affinity groups interested in engagement, community-building and advocacy among those who share the same identity. 

To learn more about one of our existing affinity groups, please email the listed contact person.

Black Faculty Affinity Group: Charles McKinney

Black Women Faculty Affinity Group: Kijan Bloomfield, Cara Djonko-Moore, Aixa Marchand, or Shana Stoddard

Women Faculty Affinity Group: Darlene Loprete, Kelly Weeks, or Katie White

Faculty Parents: Contact: Cara Djonko-Moore, Vanessa Rogers

Phase 3: Late Career Faculty Affinity Group: Steve Haynes

For individual consultation on grant writing/application, contact David Kabelik, Director for Scholarship and Creative Activity Mentoring. The Rhodes Grants, Foundations, and Stewardship Office is the liaison between external granting agencies and Rhodes faculty and staff. More information about the support provided by this office can be found on their website and in the office’s Box folder.

On designated days during lunchtime, Grants and Foundations Office staff members and David Kabelik.will accept walk-up visits from faculty for individual consultations on grant ideas, identifying appropriate funding mechanisms for specific projects, and general questions about the application prosses. 

Faculty can receive substantive feedback on grant proposals or a major manuscript prior to submitting them for review or consideration for publication. Typically, three mock reviewers provide the author written reviews of the draft. Please contact David Kabelik to request a mock review.

This four-week summer, intensive grant writing session provides support from the OFD and the Grants and Foundations Office, an accountability structure, and peer review.  Our goal for this four-week program is to establish an environment in which faculty members can make significant progress on writing external grants.  Faculty from all scholarly disciplines are welcome to participate. Grant programs that faculty targeted last summer include NSF RUI, NSF CAREER, the Sloan Research Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipends.

Professional support funds (“start-up funds”) provided by the Provost to full-time, continuing, members of the Faculty are meant to be discretionary funds, controlled by the recipient and used to further research and creative activities involved in the scholarship of the faculty member.

The following guidelines are established for the proper use of accounting for these funds.

1. The funds are expected to be expended within the time frame established when

awarded.  Remainder funds, if any, must be used within one year following the term of the grant.

2. Funds awarded may not be taken as stipend or compensation, nor may they be used for personal expenses.

3. Funds awarded maybe used for materials—e.g. books, journal subscriptions, professional memberships, equipment in support of scholarship—and for services—e.g. student assistants, consultants.  Materials and services should be in the direct support of research or creativity activity projects in the plan for professional development of a faculty member. The employment of student assistants should be administered through the Human Resources Department of the college; provisions must be made to cover the necessary social security and withholding deductions.

4. Funds may be used for professional travel in support of relevant research and creativity. Examples of such needs include travel to professional conferences; travel to libraries, archives, laboratories, or performances (for purposes of information collection and study); and travel for purposes of professional collaboration or conducting interviews. Expenses to be covered may include reimbursement for transportation costs, registration and admission fees, and lodging costs.

5. Professional support funds may be used to purchase computers and peripheral devices subject to the following criteria for “scientific equipment.”

6. Professional support funds may be used to purchase scientific equipment subject to the following criteria:

• The purchases must be approved by the chairperson of the department of the faculty member. Orders for equipment are processed following standard College procedures for the purchase of scientific equipment and laboratory supplies.
• A plan for the maintenance and upgrade of the equipment is agreed to in advance by the faculty member and the chairperson of the department.
• The equipment remains the property of Rhodes College unless the faculty member reimburses the College for the equipment, should he or she relocate to another institution and wish to take the equipment.

Check the college Catalogue for more information about the history and significance of faculty fellowships, endowments, and memorials. If you are interested in applying for a rotational chair, please contact your chair to assist you in the application process.