Open March 15, 2022 to April 30, 2023

On February 15, 2022, Provost Susan M. Collins announced the Provost’s Early Tenure-Track Faculty Research Support Initiative (see 2-16-22 University Record article – “New pandemic relief initiatives offer funding to support faculty“).

Faculty members continue to report ongoing disruptions to research and research dissemination that pose challenges for those core activities, particularly for assistant professors and early career associate professors on the tenure track. Drawing on data provided by the U-M ADVANCE Program and in response to concerns expressed by deans, chairs, and faculty, the provost’s office launched a new, time-limited initiative to help support early career tenure-track faculty who continue to confront the effects of the pandemic, focusing on challenges to their research, scholarship, and creative practice.

Rather than centering research recovery at scale, this initiative focuses on support for faculty that addresses specific/just-in-time needs that may not be met by unit-level funding or external grants. Its emphasis is on resourcing time that can be dedicated to research, scholarship, and creative practice, which may focus on exploring new modes of inquiry or practice or bringing halted work to completion. The initiative will open for applications March 15, 2022 and remain open through April 30, 2023, with the expectation that awarded funds will be spent no later than April 30, 2024.

All current (i.e., appointed at U-M as of March, 2022) UM-Ann Arbor tenure-track assistant professors, tenure-track associate professors who are not yet tenured, and tenure-track associate professors who are no more than 4 years from the date of tenure at U-M as of March 2022 (i.e., tenure was conferred at U-M no earlier than March, 2018) are eligible to apply. NOTE – Applicants must have a funded tenure-track appointment (i.e., greater than 0% effort) at the time of application to be eligible for support under the provost’s initiative.

A maximum of $3,000 total for eligible assistant professors and tenure-track associate professors who are not yet tenured, and $1,500 total for eligible tenured associate professors, will be available by application. The application process is low-bar: a one-page online form, with no CV, formal proposal, or departmental/chair approval required. Applications will be managed by the ADVANCE Program.

The provost’s initiative aims to be widely relevant for eligible tenure-track faculty across disciplines and areas of campus. Receipt of funding in this initiative does not affect eligibility for OVPR, departmental, unit, or other sources of funding, and is intended to supplement other funding for which faculty may be eligible.

Please send questions about the Provost’s initiative to: [email protected]

Updated 3/22/2022

Frequently Asked Questions

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OVPR Pandemic Relief Program
Applications will be accepted for the OVPR Program until July 1, 2022

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