Several funding opportunities exist at RIT for faculty and staff development, or for special projects that support RIT's teaching and learning activities. These include:

Faculty Leave for Professional/Career Development
The purpose of a faculty leave for professional/career development is to encourage and assist an individual to become a more valuable member of the Institute staff by engaging in some form of advanced study, writing, research or other creative activity. Guidelines for eligibility and administration of leave for professional development are included in the RIT Institute Policies and Procedures Manual, section E18.0.

Provost's Learning Innovations Grant for Faculty Projects
The Provost's Office annually sets aside $125,000 to fund faculty initiatives designed to enhance student learning. Unlike college FEAD grants which focus on improving teaching and individual faculty expertise, these grants focus on student learning. The learning innovations program has two types of grants - Proof of Concept and Adaptation & Implementation.

Guidelines, timelines and the application procedure for the 2004 competition are available at http://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/plig/. For additional information about this competition, contact Dr. Lynn Wild, Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning, 5-6543.

Provost's Cultural Diversity Grant
This program provides matching funds up to $1,000 to bring minority speakers to the RIT campus for lectures, workshops, etc. For more information on the program, contact Eulas Boyd, Assistant Provost for Diversity, 5-4705.

Interactive Learning Grants
In its endeavors to work collaboratively with faculty/staff across the Institute to create learning opportunities outside the classroom and promote school spirit, the Student Affairs Division provides funds to support interactive learning activities.

These funds can support field trips, gatherings, discussions or presentations that occur outside of regular class periods and promote a richer, more collegial interchange among faculty, staff and students. These programs might occur off-campus, in the residence halls or the Student Alumni Union, or in a faculty/staff member's home. Guidelines, timelines, and the application procedure are available on the Student Affairs website, http://www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/vp_interactive_grant.php.

Ronald D. Dodge Memorial Endowment Fund Faculty Grant 
A grant of up to $1,000 is offered annually to RIT faculty members for financial assistance in supporting research and development efforts conducted during the academic year.

Projects must have as their purpose improving the effectiveness of faculty engaged in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students at RIT. Applications are accepted between January and March each year.

Grant applicants are expected to file appropriate documentation to establish the potential impact of the work upon deaf students at RIT. Grant recipients must be faculty who have been employed by RIT for a period of at least three academic years prior to being considered for a grant.

Application forms are available online at http://www.ntid.rit.edu/pd/grants.php or by contacting Sue Roethel, smrnvd@rit.edu, x5-5326.

The Dodge Faculty Grant is offered by the NTID Office of the President and Dean in cooperation with the NTID Professional Development Program.

NTID Faculty Evaluation and Development (FEAD)
Faculty Evaluation and Development (FEAD) grants are monetary assistance provided by the Institute to faculty members for the purpose of pursuing areas of development that address the Institute's educational goals or department, college, or Institute strategic plans. All faculty members (including instructors and lecturers) are eligible to apply for FEAD grants.

FEAD grants are linked to both the yearly appraisal as well as the Plan of Work (POW), which is developed in conjunction with that appraisal. When the faculty member's current POW identifies a professional development activity that would strengthen that faculty member's performance, this activity is eligible for FEAD support. This professional development activity should address department or NTID educational goals, or NTID/RIT strategic plans.

Guidelines, timelines and the application procedure are available on the Vice President and Dean's website at http://www.ntid.rit.edu/dean/college_policies.php.

Last Edited: 2012-06-04 ac