Transylvania University
Request for Proposals
The Bingham Program for Excellence in Teaching has recently established the Bingham Professional Development Fund for Teaching Excellence. The purpose of this fund is to support the promotion of excellence in teaching. To that end, the Bingham Professional Development Fund for Teaching Excellence funds projects that are directly related to pedagogy, which are above and beyond the regular expectations of teaching. Such projects must seek to improve the teaching of students through discovery, creation, implementation, and assessment of teaching methodologies or learning outcomes, with the explicit goal of striving toward teaching excellence.
In its evaluation of excellence in teaching, the Bingham Program looks for evidence that the candidate is on the “cutting edge of disciplines and topics; demonstrates a clarity of focus and objective, especially with regard to student outcomes; promotes deepening inquiry and enlarging vision; conveys not only passion about the subjects taught and the questions pursued but also articulates an understanding about why such passion is significant and worthwhile; inspires wonder – in the various rich meanings of that word; and builds an awareness, which includes profound accountability and responsibility, that no one else can do exactly – or should be able to do as well – what he or she is called upon to teach and to be as a teacher.”
The Bingham Professional Development Fund for Teaching Excellence will annually award up to $25,000 in grants, with a maximum of $5,000 per award.
Eligibility
All full-time tenured faculty members are eligible to apply for awards; priority will be given to those applicants who have not received or were not renewed for the Bingham Teaching Excellence award. Applicants may request up to $5,000 from the Bingham Professional Development Fund for Teaching Excellence. Successful and unsuccessful applicants may apply for the award annually.
A report describing the results of the award must be submitted to the Dean of the University no later than three months after the completion of the project, which is required for future eligibility.
Evaluation Criteria
Criteria for evaluating applications for funding from the Bingham Professional Development Fund for Teaching Excellence include the following:
- Awards made will significantly facilitate teaching excellence of Transylvania faculty;
- The proposed project should advance pedagogy in the applicant’s field and demonstrate outcomes that foster teaching excellence;
- A faculty member may receive a maximum of one award per academic year.
Awards may support conference registration fees, faculty travel, or provide release time from classroom teaching responsibilities by using the award to fund one adjunct instructor. Other costs will also be considered.
Submitting an Application for the Upcoming Year
To apply, please submit a formal application to the Dean of the University by February 1 (preceding the academic year for which funds are requested) via the academic dean email address: academicdean@transy.edu. The application must include the following:
- A description of the project, not to exceed three single-spaced pages, including the project’s anticipated contribution toward excellence in teaching;
- Updated curriculum vita;
- Plans for application of the completed work in teaching;
- proposed budget of anticipated costs necessary for successful completion of the project, not to exceed the total amount of the award;
- A recommendation from the Division Chair.
Selection Process
All applications will be evaluated by the Dean of the University with final approval by the University President.