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Unit 18 Faculty Professional Development Fund

December 8, 2023

Deadline Wednesday, January 31, 2024

CALL FOR UNIT 18 PDF PROPOSALS, 2023-2024

 

Professional Development Fund (PDF) 2023-2024 Grant Applications are now being accepted. The PDF offers grants to support scholarly and pedagogical endeavors, including creative and research activities that contribute to our effectiveness as teachers and mentors.

UC-AFT Professional Development Funds are available to Unit 18 faculty as a result of the hard work of union faculty in the University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT Local 1474). We first won professional development funds in our 2003 union contract and have successfully increased the funding pool in each subsequent round of negotiations. For 2023-2024, there is approximately $141,000 available for Unit 18 faculty at UCLA. All Unit 18 faculty are encouraged to apply for funding by Wednesday, January 31st, 2024.

The UC-AFT Council on Professional Development, a committee of five volunteer Unit 18 faculty members from diverse academic fields, reviews applications for these funds and recommends awards to the Vice Chancellor of Academic Personnel. All of the committee’s recommendations shall be approved, provided they do not exceed the amount of funding in the pool. This year’s committee includes:

                          Leryn Gorlitsky – Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
                          Asako Hayashi-Takakura – Asian Languages and Cultures
                          Mia McIver – Writing Programs
                          Tyson Roberts – Political Science
                          Camilla Taylor – Art

 

ELIGIBILITY

All faculty represented by UC-AFT are eligible to request funding, regardless of the type or length of your appointment. This includes lecturers, demonstration teachers, K-12 instructors, field work coordinators, and supervisors of teacher education with appointments at UCLA during Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, or Spring 2024.  You may apply now to support activities that have taken place since July 1, 2023.  Funds awarded in response to this December 2023 call for proposals must be used by June 30, 2024.

AWARD CRITERIA

The committee will assess proposals on the basis of their professional relevance (i.e., how closely is the proposal connected to your work as a Unit 18 faculty member?), scholarly/creative/pedagogical value (i.e., how will the proposed activities enhance and improve your academic career?), and feasibility (i.e., how likely is the project to be completed successfully?). Proposals should address these three areas.

Although the UC-AFT Council on Professional Development welcomes applications from past recipients of PDF grants, we may in some cases give preference to applicants who have not received a PDF grant within the past two years. 

Funds awarded in response to this December 2023 call for proposals must be used by June 30, 2024. Successful candidates who receive funding for this period are required at the end of the academic year to submit a brief (500-word) follow-up letter summarizing what the funding enabled them to accomplish. Follow-up letters should be sent by email to Jesse Delgado in the Office for Academic Affairs and Personnel by July 30, 2024.

TYPES OF AWARDS

PDF grants are primarily intended to advance your career as a Unit 18 faculty member and support you in becoming more established within our university community. Funds may be used for:

Travel expenses and registration fees
       Conferences and conventions
       Workshops
       Trainings
       Other professional events

Research expenses
       Visits to libraries, museums, or archives
       Specialized or technical equipment*
       Books
       Editing or other consulting services
       Graduate Student Researcher support
       Course release/paid leave (for Continuing Appointees only)

Creative endeavors
       Exhibitions
       Performances
       Studio time and assistance
       Audio/visual equipment*
       Services necessary for practicing artists, dancers, designers, musicians, and others in the fine and performing arts

Materials for course and curriculum development
       Books
       Software
       Hardware*
       Instructional technology*
       Support for creating or revising courses to be more current, to incorporate research-based best practices for teaching and learning, or to be more enriching for students. 

Other expenses related to a special project
        Event planning
        Fieldwork or other travel to specific locations
        Supplies, materials, or services to support the special project
        Interdisciplinary or cross-campus collaborations
 

*Items purchased with professional development funds will remain the property of UCLA.

The list above is not exhaustive. The UC-AFT Council on Professional Development welcomes all proposals that have demonstrable value to your scholarly, creative, and pedagogical work, even if they don’t exactly fit into the categories above.

The UC-AFT Council on Professional Development will seek to fund as many professionally relevant, valuable, and feasible proposals as possible. Because the funding pool is limited, more small grants than large grants may be awarded. Proposals may be fully or partially funded. Historically, the average grant has been approximately $2000, but we strongly encourage proposals that require more or less funding than that. If your project requires more than $3,000, we encourage you to seek additional funding from other sources if possible. Please indicate those efforts in your proposal when applicable.

In previous years, the Council has been able to fund a majority of the proposals received, so we highly recommend that you apply. There is a good chance that your project will be at least partially funded.

Funds can be used to cover professional activities that take place between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. This includes events that have already taken place within that window.  

UCLA PURCHASING POLICY

https://www.purchasing.ucla.edu/purchasing/departmental-buyer/purchasing-policies

http://www.adminpolicies.ucla.edu/APP/Number/740

https://www.purchasing.ucla.edu/accounts-payable/policy-741-reimbursement-limits  

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should submit their application materials as an electronic submission to Jesse Delgado jdelgado@conet.ucla.edu, Academic Affairs and Personnel Office.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Please attach the following:  Send PDF version of Application, Proposal, Budget/Timetable and CV.

1.  2023-2024 One Application form

2.  ProposalSubmit one proposal and a detailed description of the project or activity and explain how and why such activities contribute to the candidate’s professional development and indicate how the proposal positively impacts the greater university community.  Please be sure to provide a justification for all requests. (1-2 pages)

3.  Detailed budget and timetableInclude a list of other sources of support (if any) that will be combined to comprise the funding required. (1 page)

4.  Curriculum Vitae. (1-2 pages)

 

TIMETABLE

1.

Applications are due to Jesse Delgado in the Academic Affairs and Personnel Office, by email jdelgado@conet.ucla.edu

 

2.

Call for Applications December 8, 2023

 

3.

Deadline to submit application Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

 

4.

Awards are announced late March 2024

 

 

QUESTIONS

If you have questions, please contact the Senior Academic Affairs and Personnel Analyst Jesse Delgado (AAPO) at jdelgado@conet.ucla.edu.

 
Website updated 12/13/2023