Here you will find information on various forms of support available for faculty research, course development, or other needs administered by Academic Affairs.

For a comprehensive list of funding sources administered by different areas of the institution, please see Middlebury Funding Opportunities for Faculty and Staff, a current, campus-wide list of funding for academic development maintained by the CTLR. For funding questions contact adeans@middlebury.edu.

Faculty Professional Development Fund (FPDF)

Eligibility

Funding up to $4,000 is available for the academic year, of which $600 can be used towards membership fees, and $300 may be requested for books and other teaching and research materials, such as subscriptions, connected with professional work. Funding is prorated according to FTE.  Faculty Professional Development Fund (FPDF) is available for all teaching faculty on an annual basis. It can support research needs such as travel, supplies, and membership fees. 

  • Applications should be submitted one month prior to travel.
  • Faculty with enrichment funds are not eligible for FPDF.
  • Conference travel up to $1,000 for conference(s) when not presenting.
  • Language Teaching Assistants: Conference travel up to $650 for one conference per academic year at which a Language Teaching Assistant is making a presentation.
  • Support for research needs.
  • Examples of expenditures that are not covered: dissertation research.
  • This is not an entitlement nor does it accumulate from year to year.

Please note:

  • As a guideline, once your application has been approved, itemized receipts are required for all travel related expenses including lodging and food, except in special circumstances while traveling abroad when they are not readily obtainable. In such circumstances, faculty may use federal meal and incidentals per diem rates for reimbursements. Lodging and travel should still be submitted using receipts. Per diem will normally not be accepted for domestic travel.
  • More information about Middlebury College travel, entertainment, and expense policies and procedures can be found on the controller’s policies page. Please review this policy before using a college procurement card (p-card) or submitting personal reimbursements in Oracle Finance.

Deadline

Applications reviewed continuously until the first week of June.

Apply

To apply, submit the FPDF web application formIf you are off campus, you must be connected via GlobalProtect to complete the form.

Long-Range Professional Development Program (LPDF)

Funds are available for tenured faculty only and are authorized for projects expected to continue for more than one year, and up to five years.

  • Three to five years in length, $4,500 to $13,000, one to five awards/year.
  • Priority is given to first-time applicants (these are normally once-in-a-career awards).
  • Faculty with endowed professorships are not eligible; if you receive an endowed professorship during the term of your LPDF, your grant will become inactive.

Deadline

Early March application for projects starting in the next fiscal year (July 1).

Apply

To apply, submit the online applicationPlease note: This Google form requires signing in with a Middlebury Google account. See our Google resource article to learn more.

Faculty Research Assistant Fund (FRAF)

  • Provide wages for student assistants for faculty scholarship or course development.
  • Through allocations to departments and programs, up to 10 hours per week to work with several faculty members (deadline is early October).
  • For short-term or individual needs, through the dean for faculty development and research, on recommendation by the department chair or program director ($2,000 maximum per academic year or $1,000 maximum per semester).
  • FRAF cannot be used for summer projects.
  • Students who have graduated cannot be hired.

Apply

To apply, submit the online applicationPlease note: This Google form requires signing in with a Middlebury Google account. See our Google resource article to learn more.

The Undergraduate Collaborative Research Fund (UCRF)

Available to support faculty who need to hire undergraduates to further their research during the academic year.

  • UCRF funds are not available to help students in their own independent research projects. (See the description for Senior Research Project Supplement.)
  • UCRF cannot be used for students who have graduated.
  • Application deadlines: reviewed continuously; final deadline is the first week of March. Maximum award for academic year projects will be announced.

Apply

To apply, submit the online applicationPlease note: This Google form requires signing in with a Middlebury Google account. See our Google resource article to learn more.

Scholarly Publication Subvention Fund

SPSF funds are available to assist faculty with production costs and reprint costs for scholarly publications.

The College will assist faculty with production costs and reprint costs for scholarly publications through the Scholarly Publication Subvention Fund (SPSF). All requests should be made using the online application.

Assistance will be provided (as funding permits) for tenured and tenure-track faculty, and faculty whose appointments make them eligible to serve on Faculty Council (as defined by the faculty in spring 2014) to cover production costs when an academic publisher requires a subvention as a condition for publication. Special appointment faculty who are eligible to serve on Faculty Council may also draw on the subvention support if funding permits. It may also be used for indexing, copyright or permission fees, or copyediting (i.e., copyediting of the final version of a manuscript after it has been accepted for publication). The funds for copyediting will only be paid to an independently hired editor (not to the publishing press). 

  • Reprints. Assistance will be in the form of the cost of 100 reprints, normally not to exceed $300 for a single set.
  • Page charges, submission fees, and copyright fees for articles. There is a maximum grant amount of $2,000 per article.
  • Scholarly books and artistic works. The maximum grant amount for each book project is $2,500, and repayment is not required.
  • Applications may be submitted at any time and should include a written contract with a publisher (if applicable). The faculty member may not be the publisher, producer, or agent.

Apply

To apply, submit the online application.

Ada Howe Kent

Funding (ranging between $2,000 and $4,000) for faculty who are developing new pedagogical directions, new courses, and research projects focused on teaching and pedagogy that would benefit from such support.

Deadline

Fall and spring: Calls will be sent from the dean for faculty and development.

Gladstone Award

The Gladstone Award for Excellence in Teaching is administered by the VPAA.

  • Recognizes faculty who have exhibited exceptional teaching and mentoring within and beyond the classroom.
  • Supports a project that will enhance teaching or support collaborative faculty/student work outside the classroom.
  • Grant of $10,000 to be expended within 18 months of the date of the award.
  • Call for nominations will be released early in the spring semester with proposals due by the middle of the spring semester.