Miller Faculty Fellowships
Funding for The Miller Faculty Fellowships has been suspended for the 2009/10 academic year. The 2009/10 RFP is cancelled.
Guidelines for Preparation of Proposals for Miller Faculty Fellowships
Fellowship Recipients
| 2008-2009 | 2007-2008 | 2006-2007 | 2005-2006 |
| 2004-2005 | 2003-2004 | 2002-2003 | 2001-2002 |
| 2000-2001 | 1999-2000 | 1998-1999 | 1997-1998 |
| 1996-1997 |
Program Description
The Miller Faculty Development Fund was made possible by the generosity of F. Wendell Miller, who left his entire estate jointly to Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. Mr. Miller, who died in 1995 at age 97, was born in Altoona, Illinois, grew up in Rockwell City, Iowa, graduated from Grinnell College and Harvard Law School, and practiced law in Des Moines and Chicago before returning to Rockwell City to manage his family's farm holdings and to practice law. His bequest helped to establish the F. Wendell Miller Trust, the annual earnings of which, in part, help support faculty development proposals that advance the university's strategic plan. Up to $175,000 is available for allocation this year. Faculty members who receive awards will be designated as Miller Faculty Fellows for the duration of their project. Individual fellowships can vary from $1000 to $35,000, depending on the proposal. The program is administered by the President's Office and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.
For 2008-2009, the Miller Fellowships will provide faculty with opportunities to enhance their scholarly work in the undergraduate academic programs of the university and to develop innovative approaches to enhance student learning. Faculty will have up to twelve months to complete the goals of their Fellowship project, and an optional additional six months to disseminate their findings.
Who is Eligible to Apply?
Any faculty member at Iowa State University (tenured, tenure-eligible, adjunct, lecturer or clinician) may apply for a fellowship. Faculty may submit proposals as individuals or may join with others to submit a proposal as a faculty team. To increase faculty involvement, preference may be given to first time Miller Fellowship applicants. Faculty who are CELT staff or members of the CELT Advisory Board may participate as members of Miller Fellowship teams, but may not be the lead proposer.
What Can You Propose to Do?
Faculty members can propose to develop new approaches to the teaching of existing undergraduate courses or to develop entirely new courses that will enrich the undergraduate experience. These fellowships may provide support in a number of ways: through limited faculty release time during the academic year or summer salary (defined in the next section); relevant travel; purchase or development of new instructional equipment (or software, CD-ROMs, or other instructional media); graduate assistants; or special assistance from support units on campus. Routine curriculum development activities will not be supported. Writing textbooks for the national market is not a priority of this initiative. Also, equipment purchases should be identified with improving a specific course and not with the general upgrading of classroom facilities. Computer hardware may not be purchased with Miller funds. Projects that implement new or existing computer technologies into the classroom may be more appropriately funded through the University's Computation Advisory Committee (CAC) proposal process.
What Is New this Year?
Starting with the 2009-2010 academic year, the CELT Advisory Board has implemented two new budget policies:
- Each Miller Proposal budget must include at least a 10% match from the unit, department, and/or college. For example, a proposal requesting $30,000 from the Miller funds must include a documented commitment of at least $3,000 in matching funds. The budget must clearly delineate what both the requested Miller monies and the matching funds will be used for.
- A maximum of $3,000 in faculty salary and benefits may be requested from the Miller monies to support summer salary and/or release time during the academic year. However, there is no limit to the amount of faculty salary and benefits that can be included in the matching funds. In fact, providing release time or summer salary would be an excellent way for the unit, department, or college, to indicate their support of the proposed project.
What Must a Miller Fellowship Proposal Include?
Proposals must not exceed five pages (excluding title page, budget worksheet, and department chair endorsement), and be single-spaced, in a font at least 12 points in size. Each proposal must include the following:
- A title page that clearly indicates the department(s) and college(s) involved. All faculty and collaborators involved must be listed and their position(s) identified. Include address, phone number and e-mail for the primary contact person.
- A project title and short (150 words or fewer) summary suitable for public distribution, should the proposal be funded, and the total amount requested.
- A statement of purpose, describing the specific course(s) and number of students affected; a project plan, including the methods or resources to be used; identification of intended student learning outcomes addressed by the project; an assessment plan designed to measure the desired outcomes of the project; and a dissemination plan designed to share the results of the project.
- A timeline for completion of the project. All development and implementation aspects of the project must be completed between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. It is expected that assessment activities and dissemination of project results will also be completed by June 30, 2010. However, Miller Fellows may request to extend assessment and dissemination activities (and associated costs) until December 15, 2010. This extension must be negotiated and approved by March 31, 2010.
- A statement regarding the project's significance, including its importance for meeting departmental, college, or university strategic goals and learning outcomes.
- A clear definition of any collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts and an indication of the commitment of all constituents involved.
- Provide an itemized budget and budget rationale that clearly specifies all anticipated expenses for the proposed Miller project. Clearly indicate the relevance of each budget item to the project being proposed. The maximum amount awarded is $35,000 including up to $3,000 in faculty salary and benefits for release time and/or summer salary. The minimum match (10% of the amount requested from the Miller funds) from the unit, department, and/or college must be clearly indicated. If the match provides release time or summer salary, the percentage of any release time requested, along with a signed statement from the college fiscal officer indicating the cost of the release time including benefits and the formula used to arrive at that figure must be included. If a graduate assistantship is included in the proposal, faculty should discuss who is responsible for paying the tuition scholarship and it needs to be clear in the budget if the tuition scholarship is being requested from the Miller funds or is included as part of the matching funds. Attach a signed statement from the college fiscal officer to the proposal if any salary or benefits are included in the request or as part of the match.
- Discussion of sustainability and future direction of the project beyond the duration of the award. Give evidence of departmental and college support, and indicate possibilities of future internal and external support.
- A brief, relevant biographical summary of the person(s) who will be responsible for carrying out the proposed work.
- In addition, but not included in the five pages, attach a statement of endorsement, signed by the relevant departmental chair(s). Contact Allan Schmidt, CELT (294-6087) for information or assistance in planning the instructional technology component of your grant request. Do not attach other endorsements or supplementary materials.
How Do I Apply?
Submit fifteen (15) copies of the proposal to your college dean and one electronic copy of the proposal to Steve Freeman, CELT Assistant Director, at sfreeman@iastate.edu by Monday, February 2, 2009. If more than one proposal is submitted from a single department, they are to be prioritized by the department chair. The dean will forward the proposals from the college, in priority order, to the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching by Monday, February 16, 2009.
How Do I Format my Proposal?
The proposal must include: 1) a title page; 2) proposal narrative, not to exceed 5 pages; 3) budget worksheet; 4) department chair endorsement; and 5) signed statement from college fiscal officer if the proposal includes any salary and benefits as part of the Miller request or as part of the matching funds. The proposal narrative should follow the evaluation rubric and must include the following eight sections: 1) Abstract; 2) Significance; 3) Enhancement of Student Learning; 4) Contributions to the Understanding of Student Learning; 5) Sustainability; 6) Originality and Innovation; 7) Budget Narrative; and 8) Project Plan. The budget narrative should be an explanation and justification of the budget request. The details of the budget are included in the budget worksheet and do not need to be duplicated as part of the five page narrative.
What Are the Expectations of a Miller Fellow?
Projects are to be completed by June 30, 2010 (unless an extension is negotiated to extend assessment and dissemination activities until December 15, 2010). A final report must be submitted within 30 days of the completion of the project or by January 10, 2011, to the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. CELT will provide you with a format for the final report during spring semester, 2010. Failure to submit the final report may adversely affect future funding opportunities as part of the Miller Fellowship program.
Miller Fellows will be invited to present informational sessions and/or posters about their projects at university functions throughout the year. The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching strongly encourages all Miller Fellows to publicly share the findings of their Miller project with colleagues and peers in their respective departments and colleges, across campus through university forums, and beyond campus through conference presentations and journal publications.
How Will Proposals Be Reviewed?
All proposals will be reviewed and ranked by the Advisory Board for the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, which will make recommendations to the Provost. The final selection of Miller Faculty Fellows will be made by the Provost and announced by April 10, 2009. Questions may be directed to the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (294-2906).
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria. The first four bulleted items listed below are given double weight in the evaluation of proposals.
- Significance for the undergraduate program at Iowa State University. Successful proposals will affect relatively large numbers of students and will improve the quality of the undergraduate curriculum for students both inside and outside the major. For example, the project could improve students' communication skills or critical thinking abilities, or students' learning within or across disciplines. Proposals should indicate the impact on curriculum, instructional delivery, and the students served. The proposal should directly support departmental, college, and/or university strategic planning goals.
- Enhancement of student learning outcomes and students' learning experiences through improvement of pedagogy and instructional delivery. Successful proposals will clearly identify intended outcomes and will demonstrate a clear connection between pedagogy that will be implemented and specific outcomes.
- Enhancement of the understanding of teaching and student learning in the discipline. Successful proposals will include an in-depth plan to assess whether the project has achieved its desired outcomes and a concrete plan to disseminate what is learned by the project to others locally, regionally, and/or nationally.
- Sustainability of the project (future direction). Successful proposals will demonstrate a high likelihood that the project's activities will continue after the Miller Fellowship has ended. Proposals should also indicate the likelihood of continued support from department, college, or outside funding sources.
- Originality and innovation of the project. Successful proposals are usually highly innovative and original, with potential for enhancing scholarship; they explain clearly how the proposal is new and different. Successful proposals will not merely duplicate existing successes.
- Clarity, appropriateness, and relevance of the proposed budget. Successful proposals will include a detailed budget with clear rationale for each expenditure. Funds are budgeted appropriately and in accordance with the project's overall plan and desired outcomes. A minimum of 10% in matching funds must be identified.
- Clarity of overall plan, including motivation and commitment of the proposer(s), level of departmental/college support, and adequacy of resources for carrying out the proposed project. Successful proposals will have a clear design, a strong link between design and intended outcomes, and a high likelihood of being completed within the timeline provided.
Please see the Miller Faculty Fellowships Proposal Evaluation Rubric used by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Advisory Board for complete details on how the proposals will be evaluated.
