Purpose and Amount of Grant
Initially funded in September 2006 by a generous grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Lehigh Sloan research grants are available to untenured tenure-track faculty who are caring for a newborn or newly adopted child, or have an approved Family and Medical Leave (FML) for the care of an ill family member. Research grants of up to $6000 each are intended to help untenured faculty members sustain research productivity while caring for the child, or other family member. Faculty may use these grants for expenses such as: travel for research or conferences; computer equipment; research assistance; photocopies, microfilm, and other research materials; daycare; or housekeeping. Because of tax law and insurance requirements, specific guidelines will govern the use of funds for specific purposes; see the page on Lehigh Sloan Research Grant Reimbursement Guidelines. For travel-related expenses, Lehigh's Business and Travel Expenses Policy applies.
Eligible faculty: Untenured, tenure-track faculty who are caring for a newborn or newly adopted child, or have an approved Family and Medical Leave (FML) for the care for an ill family member. Faculty are ineligible to apply for the grant if they have already started the tenure review process, i.e., if letters have already been requested from external evaluators.
Request Process
Eligible faculty will complete a request form indicating the dates of their care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or the dates of their FMLA leave for the care of an ill family member. While a specific budget is unnecessary, the faculty member may find it useful to discuss his or her plans for the grant and the reimbursement process with the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs. The faculty member will forward the request form to the Department Chair and College Dean for their signatures. The Dean will send the signed form to the Provost's Office.
Availability of Funds
Report
Faculty members will submit a brief report to the Provost's Office, with a copy to the Dean, on the ways in which they used the grant and how it benefited their professional career.