Faculty Fellows
About the Institute
The Institute for the Humanities, founded in 1987, promotes interdisciplinary research and discourse in the humanities and the arts. The Institute has a small full-time staff and a half-time faculty Director, advised by a faculty Executive Committee on which the Deans of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts and Rackham serve ex officio. The central function of the Institute is to form an intellectual community of Faculty and Graduate Student Fellows who will spend a year in residence in the Institute, pursuing their research and participating in a cross-disciplinary, non-public weekly seminar. The Michigan Faculty Fellows are chosen by a selection committee of three evaluators from outside the University of Michigan and the Insti-tute’s Executive Committee.
Expectations
Faculty Fellows are released from their usual teaching and service duties to pursue their re-search while continuing to receive their normal salary and benefits. Faculty Fellows take up residence at the Institute for the full academic year, participate in the weekly Fellows’ Seminar, and fulfill a service-to-undergraduates component.
Eligibility policies
Eligibility requirements are set by the College of LSA.
- Prospective applicants must consult with their chairs or deans about unit policies and expectations regarding leaves and fellowships before applying.
- Only tenured or tenure-track faculty from the Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses may apply.
- Faculty who hold fellowships at the Institute must return to their duties in the Univer-sity the following year.
- Faculty may not apply during the year in which their tenure will be decided.
- Faculty on College-funded leave, including sabbatical or nurturance leave, for either term of a given academic year may not apply to the Institute for a fellowship to be held during the following year.
- Faculty eligible for any College-funded leave who accept our Fellowship offer will be ex-pected to combine that support with Institute support during the fellowship year. In this case, the obligation to satisfy a service-to-undergraduates requirement during the year in residence at the Institute will be optional. Other schools and colleges have generally followed LSA’s pattern.
- During a given year, Faculty may not apply for an Institute Faculty Fellowship if they have applied either for a Michigan Humanities Fellowship offered by OVPR and College of LSA or for a fellowship in the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies.
- Faculty who have already held a Michigan Faculty Fellowship become eligible to re-apply six years after the end of their earlier award.
Selection Criteria
- Promise and significance of the proposed research project.
- The humanities or arts content of the project.
- The quality, significance, and breadth of the applicant’s prior work.
The Selection Committee looks for applicants and projects that will benefit from and contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of the group of Fellows and the work of the Fellows Seminar. It seeks to achieve variety and balance in the disciplines represented by the Fellows.
Application Process
Applicants must notify the head(s) of the unit(s) in which they hold funded appointments of their intention to apply for a Michigan Faculty Fellowship. Monday, December 1, 2008, at 5 PM, is the deadline for submitting completed applications to the Institute for the Humanities, 202 S. Thayer St., Ste 1111, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608.
Complete applications include twelve complete sets collated in this order:
1. Completed Faculty Fellowship Application form
2. Short curriculum vitae, including
a. Previous education (all colleges and universities attended; major field, years, and degrees awarded
b. Major academic recognition, honors, and memberships (include honor socie-ties), professional papers, and presentations
c. All professional positions held
3. Brief description of the project you wish to undertake at the Institute (no more than 1,000 words of text)
4. A sample of your creative or scholarly work, such as articles or chapters of books, audio or visual aids, or portfolio. Please limit the work submitted to no more than 20 pages or appropriate equivalent.
5. Document, signed by the head(s) of the unit(s) in which you hold funded appointments.
The Selection Committee will consider only those applications that are complete and that adhere to these specified word and page limits.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE MATERIALS WILL NOT BE RETURNED.
Monday, December 8, 2008, is the deadline for receipt of two letters of recommendation, one external to the University, and one internal. Be sure to send a copy of your application form and proposal to both referees, and ask them to send their letters directly to the Institute. (Staff will make all necessary copies.) No more than two letters will be accepted.
Friday, February 20, 2009, is the approximate notification date.
