New Faculty Scholar Awards from the Senate Scholarly Activities Committee (SSAC) are intended to provide extra support for Research and Creative Activity of assistant professors who have completed less than three years at UND and have demonstrated outstanding progress, promise, and creative activity. The Committee will make approximately three to seven awards each year of up to $5,000 each.

Program Objectives 

The SSAC awards grants to faculty and staff in order to encourage research and creative activity at the University. New Faculty Scholar Awards are intended to provide funds to faculty members who have completed less than three years at UND to initiate a research or creative activity program. The SSAC anticipates that many New Faculty Scholar Awards will lead to the development of projects that will ultimately be funded by external agencies.

Limitations 

The Committee will not consider more than one research/creative activity application or New Faculty Scholar award from an individual at any one meeting; however, such grants may be requested concurrent with a SSAC travel or publication grant.

Although an individual will not be allowed to hold more than one active SSAC Research/Creative Activity grant or New Faculty Scholar Award at any given time, it is permissible to apply for both in the same application round. If an individual chooses to apply for both, no more than one award will be made, and the Research/Creative Activity application will not be considered if a New Faculty Scholar Award is made. As the Research/Creative Activity grant and New Faculty Scholar Award have different budgetary allowances, it is required that two simultaneous applications reflect this difference via substantial distinctions in financial requirements and proposed activities.

Continuous support will not be provided for a specific project or for any one faculty member.

Projects to improve teaching will not be considered by the SSAC. Support for such projects should be requested from the Office of Instructional Development.

The SSAC will consider projects that request funds to:

• Conduct both pure and applied research.
• Support writing projects.
• Support other creative and scholarly endeavors (e.g., performances, art projects, compositions).
• All costs normally incurred in the conduct of the research or creative activity (i.e., equipment, consumable supplies, travel to sources, technical assistance, stenographic assistance, etc.) are eligible budget items. Travel costs which are essential to the conduct of the project may be requested (such as travel to collect specimens at remote sites, travel to confer with collaborators, travel to conduct experiments at remote labs, etc.). Travel to present papers or attend conferences is not allowable under this program. Equipment requests must include cost estimates, justification, and be clearly tied to the research question or creative activity.

The budget must be fully itemized and consistent with the scope of the project. Any personnel costs should reflect the rate of payment (i.e., hourly, monthly, per page, etc.), as well as the total payment, and the recipient should be identified by function and by name, if possible.

• Cost items which are not allowable in New Faculty Scholar Awards are:
• Salary support for thesis or dissertation research of graduate students or any other support for thesis or dissertation research of graduate students apart from the creative activity proposed by the faculty member as Principal Investigator. For those activities that will be used toward a thesis or dissertation, an explanation of the relationship of the proposed work to the Principal Investigator's research/creative activity must be included.
• Travel to professional or other meetings (complete SSAC travel application form).
• Publication costs such as page charges or subsidies to publishers of books (complete SSAC publication application form).
• Salary of the Principal Investigator.

All assistant professors who have completed less than three years at the University of North Dakota are eligible to apply for this award subject to the limitations indicated in Section I.

Because a major purpose of SSAC grants is to encourage and develop the scholarly expertise and professional reputation of UND faculty, applicants who receive an award and subsequently find they will be leaving the University must notify the SSAC chairperson and discuss possible termination of the grant.

The Committee will consider the following factors in reviewing your application:

• Excellence and clarity (to committee members who may not be experts in the applicant's field) of the application as judged by the committee.
• Evidence of prior scholarly or creative productivity.
• Potential for the New Faculty Scholar funding to advance or initiate a scholarly or creative agenda.
• Plans for external funding or future scholarly or creative activity.

Proposal Requirements 

All applications for New Faculty Scholar Awards must include the following:

• The completed application
• The applicant's resume

A letter of support from the departmental chair which includes:

• Description of the benefit of the proposed work to the department e.g. potential to attract students, fulfill department mission and goals.
• How the scholarship or creative work will advance the field.
• What are the departmental expectations for excellence in scholarship and/or creative activity, e.g. publications, presentations, external funding, exhibitions, etc.
• Where appropriate, supplemental pages may be appended, but no more than three additional pages are allowed. The original application should be submitted to the SSAC prior to the published deadline, also submit application electronically to julie.solheim@research.UND.edu. Please number the pages in your proposal.

Deadlines 

Application deadlines are set by the SSAC each year. Deadlines are announced on the SSAC homepage. Only one competition will be held for Faculty Scholar Awards each year. 

Any project which proposes to use human subjects or animals in research must be approved by the appropriate University committee before research is initiated. Faculty/staff who use recombinant DNA, radiation, or other biohazards in their research must also have approval from the appropriate committee; however, that approval is given to the investigator and is not generally required for each individual project.

Involvement of UND Committee

• Human Subjects Animals in Research: Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• Animals in Research: Institutional Animal Care and Use (IACUC)
• Recombinant DNA: Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
• Hazardous Materials: Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
• Radioactive Materials: Radiation Safety and Hazardous Materials

While faculty may obtain these reviews after a project has been approved for funding by the SSAC, it is recommended that the reviews and approvals be sought either prior to or at the time the application is submitted to the Committee. This will avoid delays in beginning the research and establishing a grant account. The research may not be initiated until these approvals have been received. Copies of the approvals should be submitted to the SSAC. Information on submitting a project for the necessary reviews may be obtained from RD&C.

Committee Action 

Applications will be reviewed by the committee within approximately one month after the application deadline.

Faculty will receive a letter from the SSAC Chairperson soon after the Committee's deliberations, indicating the decision of the SSAC. In cases where the application is not funded, the letter will indicate the reasons for the Committee's action. For those projects funded by the Committee, a Notification of Award will accompany the letter.

Grant Period  

Awards will be made for periods of up to two years. Unexpended funds from individual grants will revert to the Senate Scholarly Activities Committee account unless a written request for an extension and justification (with a current financial report) is submitted and authorized by the SSAC at least one month prior to the termination date. In no instance will an extension be permitted for more than one year beyond the original termination date.

Deviations from Approved Budget

Because the funds available to the SSAC are limited, any over-expenditure of SSAC accounts will be the responsibility of the awardee.

Awards may be used only for the project indicated in the approved application, and may not be diverted to other types of research/creative activity expenses.

In general, awards are made for a specific project and the scope of work described. If, in unusual circumstances, there is a surplus of money, use of awards funds for purposes outside of those listed in the approved budget can only occur after approval of a formal request for budgetary revision. Requests for budgetary revisions must be accepted by the Chair or full committee of the SSAC.

Final Reports

All persons receiving research/creative activity grants are required to submit final reports, including a financial statement, at the termination of the grant. Subsequent applications will not be considered from anyone who has had a previous grant unless the final report, including a current financial statement, has been submitted. Final reports are due one month following the termination date. The termination date is defined as the earlier of the date all awarded funds are expended or the end of the performance period specified in the grant application.