| by Jim Ralph

Faculty

Proposals are being accepted until Wednesday, December 8 for Whiting Foundation funding to support studying at another institution, domestically or abroad, to enhance your teaching.

Dear Middlebury Colleagues,

I invite you to consider applying for a Whiting Foundation fellowship. These fellowships are available to present (and prospective) teachers at the college and university level to enable them to “study abroad” or at some location(s) other than the home institution. The purpose is “to stimulate and broaden the minds of teachers so as to improve and enhance the quality of their instruction.” Grants are for travel and related expenses, with an average grant of about $5,000.

The Whiting Foundation encourages schools to vet their candidates, so I will convene an internal review process to recommend which proposals will be authorized for submission. The goal of this process is to ensure that all submissions from Middlebury fit the Foundation’s mission and are well-developed and well-written.

This year’s Whiting Foundation invitation is below, along with the required form. (Middlebury Community Access)

2022 Whiting Solicitation Letter

FAQ for 2022 Solicitation Materials

Candidate Information Form

To apply, please submit the following materials (combined into one document) by Wednesday, December 8, to adeans@middlebury.edu:

• Candidate Information Form

• a well-developed (almost final) draft proposal that addresses the Whiting goals and requirements

• a draft budget and justification

• CV

NOTE: These grants focus on you as a teacher. Although your research or curriculum development goals will  benefit from this funding, the project is primarily about you (not your book, not the course). The  internal review committee will assess not just your ideas but also how well your proposal meets the Whiting guidelines.

Although the required supporting letters are not needed for the internal review process, you may want to begin thinking about them now. One of the letters must be from your department or program chair. If that does not seem appropriate in your situation, I will invite one of your senior colleagues to write the letter.

This year the actual Whiting deadline is January 7, 2022.  All applicants will be notified of the internal committee’s decision by mid-December, and those authorized to submit proposals will then be able to contact their letter writers, polish their proposals, and submit via email.   Because all grants are disbursed through Middlebury, all of those authorized to proceed will need to complete the online proposal endorsement process prior to the College’s closure on December 23rd; approved applicants will be sent details about that process by the Grants office.

A couple of years ago, the Office of Grants & Sponsored Programs (OGSP) hosted an informal discussion about this program, which was recorded.  I am happy to make available that recording to faculty who might be interested in reviewing it. 

Nick Brightman, Jen Bleich, and Lisa Winkler of OGSP are available (as am I) to answer questions and provide advice about Whiting proposals and grant writing, and they can provide examples of successful proposals from past years.   

Sincerely,

Jim Ralph

Dean for Faculty Development and Research

See Newsroom Article on past Whiting recipients.

Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research
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