Purpose

Lindenwood is committed to the full and continual professional development of faculty members as detailed in the Lindenwood Policy on Professional Development. In particular, we believe that as members of a teaching institution, the faculty should actively engage in scholarship as described by the 1990 Carnegie Foundation Report, “Scholarship Reconsidered.”

Scope

This policy applies to all faculty, staff, and individuals employed by or seeking employment with the University.

Policy

Faculty Development

Faculty Scholarship Leave

Faculty Qualifications for Scholarship Leave

• Applicant must have completed at least three years of service as a full-time faculty member at Lindenwood University before the start of the proposed leave period.
• Applicant must be in good standing with regard to performance (not on a CAP).
• Applicant must not have taken scholarship leave in the preceding five years.

Opportunities that arise outside of the parameters specified here should be reviewed with the provost before initiating an approval request.

Procedure for Requesting Scholarship Leave

The proposal may not be submitted to the granting agency until the Lindenwood review process has been completed and all required approvals have been obtained.

• The faculty member will submit a summary of the scholarship proposal and the request form to the school’s FSAC and the school dean/campus provost at least 30 days prior to the granting agency’s application deadline. If the review period will take place during summer or includes campus holidays, the submitting faculty member must allow extra time for review.
• The FSAC will review the proposal for scholarly merit and relation to the academic mission of the department, while the dean/campus provost reviews the proposal with the department/division chair for potential impacts on course scheduling, advising loads, committee assignments, and other department needs.
• If the FSAC recommends the proposal and the dean/campus provost has a plan to cover the faculty member’s absence, the dean/campus provost will submit the application package to the system provost, who will evaluate the financial impact on the university to determine feasibility and will confer with the VP-HR on salary and benefits issues.
• Final arrangements for the leave request will be confirmed at a meeting of the applicant, the school dean/campus provost, the system provost, and the VP-HR.

Within the first term after returning to campus from scholarly leave, the faculty member will submit a report to the FSAC, school dean/campus provost, and system provost on the results of the project and give at least one campus-wide presentation on the topic.

Faculty Grants for Professional Development  

Faculty development is strongly encouraged through participation at events, to include but not limited to conferences, seminars, exhibitions, concerts, and performances. Reimbursement for expenses is one part of Lindenwood’s commitment to faculty members gaining and sharing knowledge.

Coverage of classes for faculty attending conferences is paramount. A plan for coverage of classes to be missed must be included in the request. Also, please be aware that approval of a travel grant does not mean that a related research project will be approved by the IRB or approved in time for travel, so IRB applications should be filed early.

Students may apply for a Lindenwood Student Scholars Travel Grant, which provides student recipients with conference travel funds for the purpose of delivering a paper or other scholarly work, presenting a poster, serving as a moderator or invited discussant in a scholarly panel, or exhibiting artistic productions that have been explicitly invited or accepted by the organizers of the event. The Student Scholars Travel Grant form can be downloaded from the Faculty and Staff Portal in the Forms and Handbooks folder in the Process Forms section.