Faculty proposals sought for David W. Raymond grant

David W. Raymond, while a member of NIU’s first Board of Trustees, created an endowment to fund an annual grant to faculty working on ways to use new technologies in their teaching.

Income from the endowment is supplemented with funds from the Provost’s Office to provide a $2,500 grant to the faculty member with the best proposal for incorporating new technologies into his or her teaching. Tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply. Grant funds may be used for software purchases, equipment upgrades, graduate assistantship time or other costs associated with developing courseware or supportive materials that make effective and innovative use of instructional technology.

The recipient of the grant will be expected to discuss and demonstrate the project in a public presentation during the spring following the award.

Raymond will be invited to the presentation each year, and the next winner of the David W. Raymond grant will be announced at that event. A public presentation of the work done by each grant recipient will contribute to faculty knowledge of the benefits, pitfalls and outcomes of using technology in teaching, thus accomplishing one of Raymond’s objectives in establishing this endowment.

Applicants for the grant must describe a project that incorporates instructional technologies in the teaching of a course or the preparation of supporting materials for a course, according to the attached format.

The proposal must include a budget for the project and a letter of support from the chair of the applicant’s department, school or division. If the project requires the involvement of other campus units (for example, Media Services) or collaborators, letters of support or commitment from those units or collaborators must be included with the proposal.

Proposals will be judged by a faculty committee approved by the Provost. The committee will use the following criteria in the priority order listed below for ranking the proposals.

Innovation (includes degree of innovation, creativity, appropriate use of technology, etc.)

Applicability (includes transferability to other campus venues, applicability to other courses and fields/departments, multidisciplinary impact, number of students who would benefit from the project, etc.)

Feasibility (includes leveraging or extending previous work, appropriate use of funds in proposed budget, technical feasibility of proposed project, probability of completion within the timeline proposed, etc.)

The selection committee will recommend finalists to the Provost, who will make the final decision. The winner of the grant will be announced in the spring each year, and funds will be available May 15 so that the successful applicant can make maximum use of the summer months.

Applicants should use the attached format for the proposals. All proposals should be forwarded to: Grant Review Committee, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, 319 Adams Hall.

The deadline to apply is March 19. The recipient is announced in April.

1-29-07