Junior Faculty
Research Program
Fiscal Year 2008 Deadline: January 9, 2008
The Junior Faculty Research program is designed to help new tenure-track faculty members establish their research/creative
activity and make progress to tenure by providing support in areas critical to the development of their programs. As a general rule, the awards are used as summer (June and July) stipends to enable faculty members to carry out full time research during that period. However, the awards are not limited to
summer stipends and faculty members are urged to use the awards in order to provide maximum benefit to their research programs. This might include
supplies, equipment, personnel and travel.
The program is restricted to tenure-track
assistant professors who are in their first four years of their
tenure-track position at the University. Faculty members hired
before Fall 2004 and those on a 12-month appointment are not eligible for this
program. A faculty member receiving an award is expected to
make a full commitment to research during the summer. Thus,
for example, he/she cannot be involved in teaching during this
period. This includes on- and off-campus for the summer session
and the August intersession. Awardees may teach in the May intersession.
Faculty members who have not acquired a terminal degree by the
deadline for application, associate and full professors, instructors,
and visiting appointees are not eligible for this program. Also
because of the limited number of available awards, faculty can
not receive an award in consecutive years and faculty who have
other sources of summer salary support will receive lower priority.
Each award totals $6,000. Awards are announced by early March.
To apply a junior faculty member must submit
five collated sets of the completed application,
arranged in the following order, to the Office of Research Services,
Robertson Hall, Room 134, by the deadline for receipt of applications.
Click HERE to Download Application
Cover Sheet in PDF.
1. Application Cover Sheet (one copy must contain original signatures).
2. A proposal which describes the research
plan and how this plan relates to his/her research development
goals. Proposal should be double-spaced with margins not less
than one-half inch and using a font size not less than 10.
3. Anticipated results/achievement of the research program should be described to emphasize quality factors
(e.g. publications) and to define the potential for external sponsorship of the research (planned proposals, sponsors, sources).
NOTE: Together, Items #2 and #3 are limited to a total of five pages. References do not count against the page limit.
4. A maximum of one page should be devoted
to discussing how the research/creative activity that you complete
during the summer will help you in your career, and help you
achieve tenure
5. Unless the funds are to be used exclusively for a summer
stipend, a budgetary breakdown with detailed justification of
each category is needed. As a corollary, how start-up funds
have been or will be used must be included. If no startup funds
were given, then write on the Application Cover sheet at the
appropriate place "No startup funds".
6. A current copy of your CV that you have or will submit to
your department as part of your annual evaluation. In addition,
include a section that addresses your complete funding history
for the past five years, including successful and unsuccessful
efforts to obtain external funding. If you have received support
from the Office of the Vice President for Research and/or Research Council
within the past three years, include a short paragraph on each
award which includes the funding amount and the benefits of
the funds to your research/creative activity program.
7. A letter of endorsement from the department chair. This
letter must include what additional support services (i.e. secretarial
assistance, research assistant, laboratory equipment, supplies,
etc.) the department will provide. The endorsement letter is
an important part of the application and a thoughtful letter
carries important weight in the review.
Each application will be reviewed by a subcommittee
composed of members of the Research Council augmented, when
necessary, by other OU faculty. After reviewing each subcommittee's
evaluations, the Research Council forwards its recommendations
for funding to the Office of the Vice President for Research.
Other Possible Reviews:
If the project will involve human subjects, laboratory animals,
rDNA and/or radioactive materials or biohazards, you must also
provide information that the appropriate University Committee
has approved the project materials. The appropriate
committees are: Human Subjects-Institutional Review Board; Laboratory
Animals-Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and Radioactive
Materials-Radiation Safety Committee and the Biosafety Committee.
For more information, please contact the Secretary of the Research
Council at 5-4757.
