Faculty Development Leave

WHO CAN APPLY? 

Recognizing the importance of a vibrant, professionally active faculty to the success of its mission, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi provides for paid leaves of absence from normal faculty duties for the purpose of professional development. Applicants must be tenured, full-time faculty members with a minimum of six (6) consecutive academic years of service at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi at the time leave is to begin, plans to continue employment at TAMUCC for at least the next academic year, is not a member of the CFE committee, and if awarded a Faculty Development Leave award, they shall not be eligible for another such award for the next six academic years.

The policy states “In order to support the research efforts of as many faculty members as possible, a faculty member who has been awarded faculty development leave shall not be eligible for another such award for the next six (6) academic years following the academic year in which the leave was taken.”  

For example, if a faculty member took leave in Fall 2018 (AY 2018-2019), then the years after leave would begin in AY 2019-2020. 

• 19-20 = Year 1
• 20-21 = Year 2
• 21-22 = Year 3
• 22-23 = Year 4
• 23-24 = Year 5
• 24-25 = Year 6

The faculty member would be eligible to submit their application in Fall 2024 to take leave again during the 2025-2026 Academic Year. 

Please read other parameters for being granted leave as well as responsibilities of awardees, as explained in the university procedure.

Please check the complete Policy.

Application package must be submitted by College Dean to the Center for Faculty Excellence no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20, 2023 as follows:

Step 1: Prepare the two files listed below

1. Faculty Development Leave Proposal form. This form must be attached as the first page of your application package and submitted as a single pdf to your college dean. 
2. A single Application Package file using your last name and first name as the filename, e.g., if your name is John Smith, the file should be named as SmithJohn.doc or SmithJohn.pdf.
   This file must contain the following:
   1. Project Summary (Regent's abstract) - This section should not be longer than one page, double-spaced (12 pt. Times New Roman font), single-sided, describing the project for which you are requesting leave. Make sure your name and contact information appear on this summary sheet.  
      1. SAMPLE REGENT'S ABSTRACT: Leave will be spent at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM)-Cuernavaca which houses the Center for Genomic Sciences and the Institute of Biotechnology.  During the leave, collaborative research activities in the area of evolutionary ecology of insect-microbe associations will be conducted.  Such activities will contribute to building skills needed for new research directions, enable field studies and establish new international research collaborations.  The leave is also expected to benefit students with findings of the research incorporated into lectures and will open collaborative and exchange opportunities for Texas A&M students and colleagues. 
      2. Regent's Abstract must include City, State, Location where leave is to be taken. 
   2. Project Description*. This section should not be longer than five pages, double-spaced, single-sided (12 pt. Times font), and should include the following:
      • Objectives/Hypotheses
      • Significance to your discipline
      • Research/Creative Activity Plan (methodology, timeline, etc.)
      • Anticipated Outcomes/Products
      • Statement of Benefit to students, department, college, university, and/or community
        *Only five pages of the Project Description will be read; extra pages will not be considered.
   3. References List/Bibliography. This section should not be longer than two pages, double-spaced, single-sided (12 pt. Times New Roman font).
   4. Curriculum Vita. This section should provide a record of publications or creative works; previous research grants, including results/outcomes; and professional development activities.
   5. Statements by at least two professional peers (one of whom must be the appropriate Department Chair) assessing the proposal’s merit and a statement of support from the College Dean.

Step 2: All completed viable applications, with a statement of approval from the dean, will be submitted to the CFE by the college dean with notice to the requesting faculty member.

Step 3: The above files should be emailed as a single PDF to brittney.weise@tamucc.edu by College Dean no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20, 2023.