SUF Faculty Leave Program

Syracuse University in Florence Faculty Leave Program
Guidelines and Criteria

Summary
Syracuse University Florence and SU Abroad have recently instituted a faculty leave program to provide SUF faculty members the opportunity to pursue academic projects that will enhance their teaching at SUF. The length of the leave will be one semester, with a maximum of one faculty member on leave during any given semester.

Rationale
One of the primary features of the University’s Scholarship in Action is to make transformational investments in three areas.  One of those areas is Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction, and another is Engagement with the World. Enabling full time SUF faculty to take a leave to pursue academic projects that will enhance their teaching at SUF will contribute to both of these aspects of  Scholarship in Action.
 
Eligibility
All SUF faculty members who have been working at SUF full time for at least five years and are engaged in teaching & service and are active scholars are eligible. Full time at SUF means teaching at least 3 courses per semester, or teaching one or two courses and doing administrative work equivalent to a course or courses to reach the total of 3 per semester. Summer courses are not included in the count.

Application Process
1. All eligible candidates need to submit a leave application form, current curriculum vitae, and a clearly stated proposal about the project as related to teaching, and its intended form of presentation (e.g. article, book, exhibition, etc.). All applications will be reviewed by the SUF Recommending Committee composed of the five academic coordinators and the SUF director. The committee will review the applications for completeness and the general feasibility of the project, and may select up to three ranked proposals for forwarding to the home campus. If a coordinator applies for a leave, s/he will have no vote regarding his or her proposal.

2. The top application (not more than three) will be sent to the associate provost for Academic Affairs, Kal Alston, with a copy to the appropriate college dean or deans. 

3. At the same time the proposals are sent to the associate provost, a plan for covering the faculty member’s teachings and possible administrative duties should be sent to the SUAbroad executive director for planning purposes and for comment on impact to the associate provost.

4. The final decision as to whether to make an award for a faculty leave and as to who is to receive the award will be made by the associate provost, taking into account the priority ranking of the SUF Recommending Committee if more than one proposal is forwarded, comments from the SU Abroad executive director, and comments received from the appropriate college dean. The dean may choose to consult with the appropriate department chair as part of the review process.

Recommending Committee Review Criteria
The SUF Recommending Committee will  evaluate faculty colleague leave proposals using the following criteria:
- academic merit of proposed leave project
- potential for significant impact on enhancing teaching at SUF
- likelihood of a tangible product in a timely fashion as a result of the leave (publication, 
  exhibit, etc) 
-academic productivity of faculty member
-outcome of earlier leaves (if applicable)
-seniority of faculty member
-engagement with the SUF community

Application and Decision Deadlines
For spring:
- April 15 to SUF Recommending Committee
- May 15 to associate provost
- June 30 decision made

For fall:
- October 15 to SUF Recommending Committee
- November 15 to associate provost
- January 15 decision made

Reapplication
New applications from previous recipients may be made after 4 years.

Financial Considerations
The SUF budget will not be increased to cover the costs of the leave.  The expenses incurred will have to be covered through savings in other parts of the SUF budget. 

SU Abroad faculty members granted a leave will receive 75% of their salary for the semester.

If a faculty member teaches three courses per semester, two courses will be dropped and a substitute faculty member will be hired to teach the most essential course.

If a faculty member teaches two courses and has administrative duties, other staff will have to absorb the administrative duties at no additional cost or two courses will need to be dropped.