Provost’s Authors Fellowship – Call for Applications

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well as you transition into the holiday break. I know you are busy with grading and taking care of the various end-of-semester tasks. I wanted to provide a short update about the Provost’s Authors Fellowship, a new initiative we started last year, and announce the call to submit new applications for the second cohort.

Through this program, faculty members engaged in the development and publication of scholarly books will have financial and programmatic support to focus on their work, regardless of their field of study or academic discipline. The fellowship is designed to provide increased support to tenured associate professors pursuing promotion to full professor.

Our first cohort included 17 faculty members from across campus, and the feedback we have received from them about how this is supporting their work is exciting. At a recent meeting, current Fellows shared how they appreciated “having a community of writers”, or how the program “gave me the gift of time” and “helped make me write” and “helped me feel less isolated.”

Program Overview

  • 15 tenured associate professors will be selected for a 15-month fellowship, beginning in June 2020.
  • Fellows will receive one month of summer salary, each summer, during the 2020 and 2021 summer semesters.
  • Fellows will be granted two course adjustments during the 2020-21 academic year, at the discretion of the dean and department chair, to provide more focused time for research and writing.
  • Fellows will receive an additional $4,000 for research support or professional development.
  • Fellows will be organized into small writing groups that will meet monthly to read and provide feedback on one another’s work. Attendance at these monthly meetings is a mandatory component of the program.
  • I will host luncheons at both the beginning and the end of the academic year to celebrate and recognize the efforts of the fellows. The fellows’ deans and department chairs will also be invited.
  • Fellows will serve as mentors to those selected the following year.

Eligibility

Any tenured associate professor currently working on a book project may apply. However, faculty members on sabbatical or undergoing promotion review, as well as previous recipients of this program, are not eligible.

Applications Due – Feb. 16, 2020

I encourage all eligible faculty members to consider submitting an application by Feb. 16, 2020. Fellows will be notified by March 25; programming will begin June 1.

This program is intended to provide UT Austin faculty members with greater support to pursue research and scholarship at this critical point in their careers. You can learn more about the program requirements and apply here. My hope is that this program will be a meaningful way the university can better support your goals, and I will continue to work to identify other avenues for us to do so.

Sincerely,

Maurie McInnis

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