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faculty development. Time spent on leave will not count toward years in service.
Applications for leave must be submitted at least 120 days prior to the beginning of the leave
period to allow for sufficient lead time necessary for departmental and administrative planning.
A decision about the proposed leave should be made by the Provost within six weeks of the
faculty member’s application.
Applicants for leave should consult with their department chairs as soon as possible to facilitate
departmental planning for the leave. Applications must be submitted in writing to the Provost.
Applications must be signed by the faculty member’s department chair to signify that the chair
has been notified of the application. Applications must specify the reasons for requesting leave
and the duration of the proposed leave. At the request of applicants, applications may be kept
confidential. The department chair must provide the Provost with a statement in writing as to
how the department will adjust to the leave, including how course load in the discipline and in
general education, advisees, and other institutional service will be covered. Leave requests are
reviewed and decided by the Provost. Normally, the College will attempt to hire adjunct faculty
or a visiting assistant professor as needed for the duration of the leave.
III.D.6. Summer Stipends
A number of stipends for summer projects are awarded each year to faculty projects that are
deemed to benefit both faculty development and the College as a whole. These summer stipends
are intended to support original research or creative work that will, in most cases, result in
publication, performance, or exhibition. Stipends will also be considered for course development
and for teaching development through such programs as the Associated Colleges of the South’s
Teaching and Learning Workshop. The desired result of such projects will, of course, be to
strengthen teaching. Applications for summer stipends must be submitted to the Associate
Provost by March 1. The application for a summer stipend is located on the College's Intranet.
A written report of the summer project must be provided to the Associate Provost of the College,
who will forward a copy to the Faculty Development Committee, during the first week of
September following the summer project.
III.D.7. Professional Travel and Conferences
Birmingham-Southern College encourages faculty travel as an integral and vital component of
faculty development. As Birmingham-Southern seeks to position itself as a widely recognized
national liberal arts college, faculty accomplishments need to become more widely known in
professional circles and organizations at the state, regional, national, and international levels.
Consequently, while the College supports and encourages all kinds of professional development
for faculty members, travel related to professional development is a particularly important
category because of its unique benefits to the College as well as to the individual. Professional
development travel application guidelines can be found i
n Appendix I .III.D.8. Named Chairs and Funding
When a named chair becomes available, the Provost identifies all qualified candidates. The