The College encourages and seeks to facilitate the professional development of all faculty members. Toward this end, the College funds the faculty travel and faculty project grant programs, which are administered by the Committee on Faculty Grants. The College also encourages faculty members to seek and secure funding for their work from outside agencies, such as government, foundation, and consortium programs.
Faculty Travel Grants
The College encourages all faculty members to attend scholarly conferences, seminars, workshops, and meetings of professional societies. The College views attendance at such meetings as being vital to the continued professional development of the faculty. Faculty members should submit travel grant request forms (available in the Faculty Resources section of the Hendrix website) as early as possible in the academic year to ensure that they receive funding. At the beginning of the academic year, the Committee on Faculty Grants notifies the faculty of the maximum amount that can be awarded to an individual faculty member for faculty travel grants during that academic year. See Appendix 6 for Business Office guidelines for grants.
Faculty Project Grants
These grants are awarded to enhance the teaching, research, and professional activity of the faculty who receive them. Although in some cases these grants may result in publication or performance, which is not always the case. It is expected that the work funded by the grant enriches the faculty member’s teaching and professional activity in significant ways, regardless of whether it results in publication or performance. Faculty members need not feel constrained to propose only projects that have direct applicability to specific courses they currently teach. The Committee on Faculty Grants recognizes that the intellectual development of a faculty member is an intrinsic benefit to the institution and is aware that teaching may be enriched in unexpected ways when faculty members increase their knowledge in areas only tangentially related to their disciplines.
The work or study funded by project grants may take place during the academic year, or it may be undertaken either during the summer or during a sabbatical leave. The grant is intended to cover expenses incurred during the course of the project and may include funds to be spent for travel, equipment, appropriate professional credentials or degrees, books or journals, and other materials deemed essential to the project. Funds may also be used to pay student assistants; this is especially important when the participation of student assistants not only furthers the aims of the faculty member’s project but also gives students valuable experience within a particular discipline. Projects of this nature may also fall under the category of Odyssey Project grants as described below. Proposals are typically funded in the range of a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Faculty members receiving project grants must submit a final summary of the project to the Committee on Faculty Grants at the conclusion of the grant.
Proposals should be submitted to the Faculty Grants Committee before February 1 using the form available in the Faculty Resources section of the Hendrix website. See the Appendix for Business Office Guidelines for Grants.
Faculty Odyssey Project Grants
Odyssey Project Grants are similar in nature to the Faculty Project grants described above, but are designed specifically to promote faculty efforts to enhance the offerings of Odyssey experiences at Hendrix. As is the case with Faculty Project Grants, Odyssey projects may but not necessarily have to involve student participation, but should in any event have as their ultimate goal the creation of new or enhanced experiential learning opportunities for students in any of the six designated Odyssey categories. The timing and duration of the project and the types of expenditures envisioned likewise mirror those for Faculty Project Grants.
The specifics of the proposal process is described in the Odyssey Program Guide and regularly reviewed by the Committee on Experiential Learning, in coordination with the Odyssey Program Director. Under ordinary circumstances, Odyssey project grants are awarded according to the following schedule: February 15 (for summer projects and courses for the following academic year), April 15 (for fall projects), and October 15 (for spring projects). However, applicants who must have assurance of funding further in advance than these deadlines allow are encouraged to consult with the Odyssey office. In cases where there are extenuating circumstances (such as timetables imposed by external constituencies), applicants may be given permission to apply during an earlier cycle than usual.
External Grant and Foundation Support
Grant Approval Process. All grant applications initiated by or for the benefit of faculty must first be approved by the Provost. The proposal budget must also be reviewed and approved by the Business Office prior to submitting the Grant. Grant applications or proposals submitted for approval must be endorsed by the chair of the sponsoring academic or administrative department and by the Area Chair.
Step 1: Discuss the proposed project with the Provost, including detailed information on College matching requirements (if any). The Provost advises the initiator regarding the fit of the project with the College’s academic program.
Step 2: Discuss the proposed budget with the Grants Manager in the Business Office, including detailed information on College matching requirements (if any). This is to ensure that the fringe benefits and the indirect cost requirements are properly submitted (if applicable).
Step 3: If the proposed project requires matching funds or in-kind resources from the College, the initiator must have approval from both the Provost and Vice President for Business and Finance before submitting to the granting agency or organization. If the proposed project involves matching funds to be raised externally by the College, the initiator must discuss the proposal with the Dean of Advancement for initial approval, who then discusses it with the President for final approval.
Step 4: Write the proposal, following all guidelines as documented in the RFP or funder publication(s), consulting with the Director of Foundation Relations, the Grants Coordinator, and the Provost as appropriate.
Step 5: Using the External Grant Approval form (included in Appendix 8), submit the proposal to the appropriate officials for approval.
Step 6: The Provost indicates approval of the proposal to the Dean of Advancement and the President.
Step 7: Submit a copy of all proposals for external funding to the Director of Foundation Relations.
Step 8: If a grant is awarded, copies of the award letter and/or receipt of funds must be sent to the Provost, the Director of Foundation Relations, the Grants Coordinator, and the Director of Media Relations.
Grant Budgeting and Indirect Cost Recovery. Hendrix currently has a federally approved rate for indirect costs of 62%. In drafting grant proposals, and when permitted by the granting agency, departments should budget indirect costs of 62% on all direct salaries. Fringe benefits are based on a number of different scenarios, so it is important to contact the Grants Manager to ensure proper requirements.
Funds derived from indirect cost recovery are first allocated to the income accounts of the College’s operating budget to support the cost of administering the grant and utilization of campus facilities, and then allocated in a portion to the departments for use on low cost equipment repair or student/faculty research and development costs.
This policy is reviewed on a periodic basis to determine the actual expenses incurred by the College to administer the grants awarded. Based upon these findings, the indirect cost allocation rate may be adjusted at any time during the academic year.
Questions concerning budgeting or indirect cost recovery should be directed to the Grants Manager in the Business Office. See Appendix 6 for Business Office guidelines for grants.
Grant Compensation. All compensation from grants, whether as a principal investigator at Hendrix or as a sub-guarantee with another institution, must be approved in advance by the Provost.
Subject to the approval of the President, the Provost establishes the level of compensation and release time for any participants, and has final approval over all research and staffing participation for all grants. The regular and scheduled academic needs of the College are the primary consideration in determining a faculty member’s participation in a grant activity.
Compensation from grant activity during summer months cannot exceed a monthly rate equal to the regular monthly salary or wages of the participant.
All College Human Resources policies and practices for compensation and fringe benefits are followed. Compensation from grants, regardless of the funding source, are issued on payroll checks. Federal Income Taxes and F.I.C.A. taxes are withheld on all grant checks, as required by the Internal Revenue Service. See Appendix 6 for Business Office guidelines for grants.
Grant Reporting. It is the responsibility of the principal investigator to make sure that all progress reports, budget reports, and fund requests are submitted on a timely basis as defined within the grant. Copies of each report submitted to the granting agency should be forwarded to the Grants Manager in the Business Office and the director of Foundation Relations in the Advancement Office.
Assistance in Writing Grant Proposals. The Director of Foundation Relations in the Advancement Office coordinates grant proposals for College-wide purposes and, upon approval by the Provost and the Dean of Advancement, assists with proposals for individuals.
Fundraising by Faculty or Student Organizations
Except as provided herein, all fundraising activities must be conducted only under the auspices of the Office of Advancement (OA).
The OA is responsible for coordinating all fundraising except grants related to professional development (e.g. NSF, NEH, residencies, etc.). Charitable support through fundraising is sought from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other private sources. All efforts to seek philanthropic support from these sources must receive prior approval as described below, and shall be coordinated through the Office of Advancement.
All fundraising efforts by administrative departments, academic departments (including individual faculty members) and any student organization must first be approved by the Senior Leadership Team member who is responsible for the area seeking funding. The Senior Leadership member will then seek approval from the OA. Fundraising efforts for athletics must be approved by the Athletics Director prior to being reviewed by the OA. Upon approval by the OA, all gifts and grants received, except grants related to professional development, must be received and documented by the OA in accordance with their processes and procedures.