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empowering innovation and extramural success

Purpose:

The Liberal Arts Career Enhancement Award program, a collaboration between Research & Innovation (R&I) and the College of Liberal Arts, supports faculty in advancing their research and creative endeavors. This initiative provides financial resources and expert guidance to help faculty develop and submit competitive grant proposals, enhancing their scholarly and creative impact. By equipping faculty with the tools and support needed, the program positions their projects for success in securing extramural funding.

Eligibility: 

• Tenured and tenure-track faculty members who hold a full-time appointment in the College of Liberal Arts.
• Proposals must exhibit high potential for leveraging extramural funding.
• Awarded applicants must commit and submit at least one external proposal to an approved funding agency based on the seed-funded project.
• Awarded applicants must complete a final draft of their proposal to be sent for external review by May 31, 2026, or This will provide faculty members with feedback to improve the competitiveness of their proposal.
• If funded, all applicants must present proof of extramural submission in the final report. The final report will be due September 30, 2026.
• All applicants must clearly and convincingly demonstrate a new research direction in an area that is likely to generate extramural funding.
• Research that is already supported by other sources is not eligible for seed
• Proposals already submitted to an extramural agency, or those already reviewed and found noncompetitive by an extramural agency, will not be considered for funding.
• Multiple faculty members may work on the same grant proposal; each faculty member must submit an individual InfoReady application.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Significance of work
• Contribution to discipline
• Impact on applicant's career
• Expected output (i.e. grant submissions, manuscripts, articles)
• Likelihood of timely project completion
• Appropriateness of requested budget

Application Materials

To qualify for the Liberal Arts Career Enhancement Award program, faculty members must provide a short proposal, at most two pages. Proposals must be submitted through the InfoReady platform by 5 PM, May 1, 2025. The proposal should include the following information:

Cover sheet

• Name, department/program, rank (i.e., assistant, associate, or full professor) of all applicants
• The proposed grant title and the name of the sponsor agency/organization providing grant funding you are interested in applying to

Narrative

• Two-page description of project and how completing project will situate faculty to apply for extramural funding

Budget Narrative

• Funding may be used for student salary, travel, professional memberships, and/or equipment. All applicants must provide details on how the funding will be utilized. 

selection process

A committee of previous successful grant awardees and/or Research & Innovation (R&I) staff will determine which grant proposal submissions will be recommended for seed funding. 

AWARD TERMS/CONDITIONS

Seed funding will be distributed in Fall 2025 depending on the proposed budget and is subject to the following:

• The faculty member must register with ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Expertise Connector.
• The faculty member must attend three mandatory meetings/trainings facilitated by R&I, in Fall 2025:
  • Exploring Proposal Development & Sponsored Projects Services
  • Finding Funding: Pivot-RP
  • Grantsmanship Fundamentals & Effective Strategies
• Once the seed funding is awarded, the faculty member must submit a Notice of Intent (NOI), selecting Proposal Development Services; including budget. A member of the Proposal Development Team will be assigned to work with the faculty member to develop a competitive proposal and submit it for external review.
  • External Review – R & I has contracted an external review firm that engages subject matter experts specially tailored to your field of study. These experts meticulously examine your proposal and provide valuable feedback and insights aimed at enhancing its competitiveness. To safeguard the integrity of your work and our collaborative efforts, a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) governs the relationship between ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ and the external review firm.
• A final proposal draft is ready to submit for external review by May 31, 2026 or earlier. This will ensure that the faculty member has time to respond to the reviewers’ comments and submit their proposal by the end of the Summer 2026 semester or earlier.
• Faculty members will be excluded from all future summer research support if the proposals are not submitted.
• Seed funds must be fully spent by July 15, 2026.