Funding Opportunities for Faculty

The Provost’s Supplemental Travel Fund is intended to provide an additional resource for enabling the presentation of scholarly and creative works at peer-reviewed conferences, festivals, and competitions. All full-time tenure-track and tenured faculty are eligible to apply, and awards will begin this fiscal year, retroactively to July 1, 2024.

Funding through this program is limited to $1,000 per faculty member per fiscal year. This total may be utilized over a maximum of two events per year. This "last-dollar" program will supplement funding currently available through the Professional Development Committee (PDC) and other sources. The funding letter from the PDC will be submitted as part of the application for this supplemental fund. Applicants must also seek funding available at the department and college levels (or unit and department, as appropriate) and signatures of the chair/director and dean/manager are required in the application process.

This program is limited to presentation of peer-reviewed conference papers, juried creative exhibitions, juried media festival presentations, and similar peer-evaluated presentations of completed work. If a presented work is co-authored, each eligible KU faculty author may apply for travel funding through this process.

Generally, funds must be expended by June 30th, and applications can be made prospective or retroactive to the travel. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for travel occurring in the summer months.

Following the professional travel, awardees must submit conference papers, exhibition catalogs or images, media, etc. to the Provost’s office within six weeks of travel in order to remain eligible in the three fiscal years following the award.  

Faculty members can complete the application for funding by visiting the online forms page faculty/staff tab and clicking on the Academic Affairs tile.

The Provost’s Excellence in Teaching Professional Development Grant program is intended to provide an additional resource for faculty engaging in activities that support continuous improvement in instruction. All full-time tenure-track and tenured faculty are eligible to apply, and awards will begin this fiscal year, retroactively to July 1, 2024.

Grant funding is limited to a maximum of $3,000 per faculty member per fiscal year in 2024-2025, with a total funding pool of $25,000. This "last-dollar" program will supplement funding currently available through the Professional Development Committee (PDC) and other sources. A funding letter from the PDC must be submitted as part of the application for this supplemental fund; whether that letter is for this project or indicates that PDC funding was exhausted for a prior award. Applicants must also seek funding available at the department and college levels (or unit and department, as appropriate), and support of the chair/director and dean/manager is required in the application process.

Generally, funds must be expended by June 30th, and applications can be made prospective or retroactive to the travel. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for travel occurring in the summer months.

Following the development activity, awardees must submit a brief summary of outcomes to the committee, within one month of activity completion, in order to remain eligible in the three fiscal years following the award. 

To apply, please submit the following by email to Karen Rauch no later than November 15, 2024.

• Written proposal - (3 pages maximum)
  • Briefly describe the professional development for which funding is sought and provide online links (where available) for further information
  • For in-person training or virtual synchronous training, provide information regarding location, dates, and times
  • Briefly describe how this professional development activity will impact your teaching
  • Briefly describe how your background has prepared you for this training
  • Provide a budget including all costs and all other funding sources that you have already secured
• Statements of support from your department chairperson and dean (these can be letters or emails)
• A copy of your PDC letter for this opportunity or for a previous application if you have exhausted PDC funding for this year

Applications will be reviewed by a committee developed by the Center for Engaged Learning. Recommendations will be made to the Provost for final approval.