Mellon Tri-College Faculty Forum Grant

Portrait of Andrew W. Mellon by Oswald Birley

As a result of funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Tri-College Faculty Forum Grant was established to support initiatives and programs that encourage and foster collaborations between faculty at Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. These collaborations can be in areas of pedagogy, research, and governance/service, and one of the primary goals of the grant is to help strengthen and broaden the intellectual pursuits of faculty in the tri-college community, encourage collaboration and in many cases, encourage interdisciplinary endeavors.

There are FOUR major programs supported by the Mellon Faculty Forum Grant

1. The New Faculty Orientation Sessions in Fall and Spring
2. Brainstorming Grants
3. Seed Grants
4. Across the Career Seminar

More Information

• Steering Committee Members for the Trico Forum
• Brainstorming Grant Prior Recipients
• Seed Grant Prior Recipients

1) The New Faculty Orientation Sessions in Fall and Spring

CPGC Cafe

Many challenges face new faculty members at the start of their teaching and independent research careers. Each college has established its own new faculty orientation program that includes informative discussions and workshops; however the program sponsored by the Faculty Forum Grant is unique because it brings together the new faculty from all three colleges. In the fall, new tenure track faculty members and those on 3-year full time appointments are invited to attend a dinner followed by an evening workshop. This fall meeting has several goals. First, it provides a relaxed forum for new faculty members from the three colleges to meet each other, to talk about concerns they face as the newest members of the college communities, to learn about common research interests and to help promote communication and interaction. Another goal of the fall session is to present workshops and encourage discussions which focus on time management skills, balancing the many demands and requests that are often asked of faculty members, learning to prioritize projects, learning how to judiciously accept or defer committee work, and how to connect with effective mentors including more senior colleagues within the department and within the overall college community.

A follow-up dinner is held in the Spring to allow the new faculty members to meet again, socialize and build on connections established from the fall meeting. It also gives the Tri-Co faculty an opportunity to discuss questions and concerns that may have arisen over the course of the academic year, particularly as they gain more experience at their home institutions.

2) Brainstorming Grants

Brainstorming grants are available to support tri-co faculty members who share common interests.  Awards range from $400-$600, and can be used for lunches, dinners or other gatherings where meaningful discussions, brainstorming sessions, workshops, and interactions can occur with peers from the three campuses. The goal of the brainstorming grant is to encourage faculty gatherings in order to discuss scholarly interests, curricular projects and program initiatives.

The Brainstorming proposal deadline is typically in early November, and notification of the successful grant awards usually follows several weeks later.

An application for a Brainstorming grant includes the following:

1. A cover sheet
   • Brainstorming Grant Cover Sheet
2. A brief description of the interest group (1-2 page narrative)
3. The nature of the meetings
4. A tentative list of those who would attend (representatives from the three campuses is strongly desirable.)
5. Budget allocation (Meals, reading or computer materials are covered, in addition to travel expenses, but no faculty stipends are permissible under the guidelines of the grant.)

Brainstorming Grant Prior Recipients

3) Seed Grants

The Lost Wax initiative

The Seed Grant Fellowships support innovative faculty projects related to research, teaching, curriculum, or service/governance. The grants are flexible as to the nature and scope of the initiatives funded. Projects might include faculty working groups, topical workshops or symposia, exchanges with other liberal arts colleges or universities, invited speakers, travel money for faculty training, etc. Fellowship support includes up to $3,000 per project, to reimburse expenses appropriate to the nature of the proposal such as travel, hosting events, small honoraria for outside speakers, materials and equipment, etc.

Funds can be provided for up to 3 years (first year of funding and 2 subsequent renewals) for a maximum of $9000 in financial support. If you have received a seed grant in the past, you are eligible to submit a request for a grant renewal.

Grant applications should include the following:

1. Faculty member(s) involved in the project
2. A description of the proposed initiative (3-4 pages)
3. A detailed budget (travel expenses are permissible, but similar to the Brainstorming grants, faculty stipends are not funded.)

The Seed grant proposal deadline is typically in late March or early April, and notification of the successful proposals usually follows several weeks later.

• Seed Grant Cover Sheet

Seed Grant Prior Recipients

4)Across the Career Seminar

As faculty progress through their academic careers, different personal issues arise which can have a profound effect on their professional lives. An annual seminar is planned in the spring in which outside speakers are invited to the Tri-College community to discuss a number of different topics.

Steering Committee Members for the Trico Forum