Faculty Recruitment Innovation Fund

 
Applications are closed for the current academic year.
 
The University of Chicago has long recognized that in every population there are people of great ability seeking an environment that will enable them to make fundamental and significant contributions to bodies of knowledge. The Office of the Provost is pleased to provide financial assistance to support academic units as they prepare to develop an excellent and diverse pool of faculty candidates to consider for appointment at the University of Chicago.
 
The Faculty Recruitment Innovation Fund is a program to support units that appoint tenure-track and School of Medicine track faculty to build skills, practices, and processes that will enable them to attract candidates from members of groups historically underrepresented in the academy.
 
While we are open to a variety of proposals, preference will be given to those offering concrete suggestions for identifying, developing relationships with, and generating applications from scholars historically underrepresented in the academy. The level of support will be determined by the Office of the Provost on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the program proposed, though some more standard funding ranges are listed below. No grant will exceed $20,000.
 
Innovation Fund applicants are invited to be imaginative about outreach activities. Potential program areas include:

  • Hosting a lecture series or symposium

  • Focused networking activities

  • Collaborating on research
 
Anticipated funding ranges are provided below:

  • $5,000 networking and outreach

  • $10,000 for lecture series, symposium

  • $20,000 for research collaboration

  • $20,000 for visiting scholar grants or short-term visiting professor appointments

 
Application
Applications will be no more than two to three pages and describe the following:

  • Your unit’s long-term goals for faculty diversity

  • Your unit’s past efforts in creating an inclusive environment, including successes and areas for improvement

  • Your unit’s current activities, practices, and programs for increasing faculty diversity

  • The activities proposed for this project, including milestones and outcomes

  • How the proposed activities will help your unit make progress towards your long-term goals regarding faculty diversity

 
Applicants should also submit a detailed budget (downloadable budget template) and a letter of approval from the dean, deputy dean, or department chair (an email will suffice). The final application packet and approval letter should be emailed to recruitmentfund@uchicago.edu.
 
Deadline
Applications are closed for the current academic year.
 
Reporting
A final report, due at the conclusion of the project, must be submitted to the Office of the Provost. Awardees failing to file a final report will be ineligible for future grants from this program.