2013-2014 Faculty Grants for International Connections
Office of International Affairs (OIA)
Goal
To develop new, as well as enhance current, international connections that will lead to expanded international collaborations between Lehigh faculty and their counterparts in academic/research institutions abroad focusing on areas of mutual interest.
Eligibility
Any tenured or pre-tenured faculty member at Lehigh University is eligible to apply.
Context, Purpose, and Expectations
Lehigh University’s International Portfolio has the following two overarching goals:
- the internationalization of Lehigh’s community and
- increasing Lehigh’s international footprint.
Faculty members who are internationally connected will play a crucial role in achieving these two long-term goals. Internationally connected faculty members will be better prepared to do the following:
- Seek external funding to support their future sabbatical leaves in foreign countries;
- Faculty members interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholarship may use their international visits and connections to develop a strong competitive application;
- Develop international collaboration in areas of mutual interest in education and research/scholarly/creative works;
- Create courses that have international perspectives and components;
- Incorporate international issues into their existing courses;
- Become a magnet for invited prestigious international professors and visiting scholars, artists, postdoctoral fellows;
- Attract international graduate students to study at Lehigh;
- Create unique learning opportunities for our undergraduate students to study abroad and advise our Lehigh undergraduate students about the value of international experiences abroad;
- Create an international network of partnerships that can serve many purposes for years into the future, become an asset for developing university-wide partnership with foreign institutions overseas; and
- Finally receive international visibility and recognition.
All of the above are important contributors to ensure that Lehigh achieves the above stated goal, and will be used as criteria for evaluating the faculty grant proposal.
The evaluation procedure will place particular emphasis on:
- Intellectual Merit of the Proposal;
- Potential impact on the individual faculty member’s future research and teaching activities, and Lehigh’s internationalization efforts;
- Evidence that sufficient exploratory effort, and communication with proposed host institution, has already occurred to lay the ground work for the proposed activity’s success.
The purpose of this grants initiative is to provide a faculty member with the necessary funding to support a two-week visit at an academic institution or a national research center/institute located overseas. The expectation is that the Lehigh faculty member will use the two weeks to have a substantive exchange of ideas with another faculty member or groups of faculty (or their equivalent) at the host institution in area(s) of mutual interest in education, and/or research/scholarly/creative works. The expected, and immediate, outcome is the learning about the host institution and the building of a strong interpersonal connection which will be the foundation for future collaboration that can lead to more tangible results such as the 10 examples cited above. In addition, the designed longer-term outcome is the establishment of a broader based relationship between Lehigh University and the host institution that goes beyond the individual faculty member’s area of interest.
Process
Grants will be awarded to support up to five faculty members on an annual basis over the next four years. Grantees will be selected based on a competitive process which is initiated by an interested faculty submitting a two-page proposal. The current four Iacocca Professors (see below) and the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs have agreed to serve as an evaluation committee submitting their recommendation to the Vice President for International Affairs who will make the final selection.
Potential Faculty applicants are invited to speak with any member of the evaluation committee or the Vice President for International Affairs if they have questions or if they want to get feedback to an idea. This should help the interested faculty member to develop a strong proposal and in streamlining the process, with the understanding that such a consultation doesn’t guarantee funding of the proposed idea since all proposals must be vetted by the full committee.
Proposal Components (a maximum of 2 pages)
- Professional and personal goals for the visit
- Expected outcomes: short-term and long-term
- Nature of interaction: provide a narrative outlining substance of the interaction at the host institution and the arrangements. Name(s) of the foreign academic institution(s) or the research center/institute, and the name(s) of one or two faculty members (or equivalent) in these institutions
- What pre-trip planning and preparation will be done prior to leaving campus to ensure that the stated goals will be achieved? Attach a letter or e-mail message from the proposed counterpart extending an invitation outlining in concrete terms the proposed joint activities during the faculty member visit to the host institution and host’s own expectations.
- Expected follow-up steps upon return to campus. Note: Each faculty member who is awarded this grant will be asked to submit a brief written trip report upon their return to campus to the Vice President for International Affairs, his/her department chairperson and dean as well as agree to join the rest of the recipients to give a short oral presentation about their experiences to faculty interested in applying for this program as well as newly hired faculty.
- A proposed budget for travel and in-country costs and proposed dates of trip.
Proposal Timeline
Proposals are accepted any time during the year with a deadline of March 8, 2013. Notification back to the faculty will be done by April 5, 2013. Funding for approved grants is valid until August 31, 2014. This represents date by which the proposed overseas trip should be completed.
Proposals should be sent to the following address:
Faculty Grants for International Connections Committee
c/o Cindy Hart
Office of International Affairs
Coxe Hall – 3rd floor
Committee members
Current Iacocca Professors:
George White, College of Education
Nada Sanders, College of Business and Economics
S. David Wu, P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
Peter Zeitler, College of Arts and Sciences, and
Member-at-large and Committee Chairperson:
Vincent Munley, Professor of Economics, former Iacocca Professor, and Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs
