George Mason University Faculty Study Leave

Faculty members may compete for the Faculty Study Leave program, administered by the Office of the Provost. Faculty awarded a study leave may take one academic year of Educational Leave at half pay with full benefits (based on 50% of their base salary) or one academic semester of Educational Leave with full pay and benefits. Faculty members who are granted a Faculty Study Leave (FSL) are not eligible to apply for another FSL for at least seven academic years and must return to the University for a period of one year after completing the FSL. Departments will establish procedures, criteria and deadlines for submission and review of study leave proposals; proposals must be evaluated based on quality and merit. Study leave is not an entitlement; faculty may not insist upon a leave if, in the judgment of the department and the administration, the faculty member's services are needed for a particular semester or year.

Purpose: To provide leave equivalent to one semester for the support of advancing scholarly, research, teaching, and/or creative activity, including development of innovative teaching approaches and methods.
Availability: Funding is usually available for 20-25 faculty study leaves each year. (30- 35 faculty typically apply each year.)
Eligibility: An applicant must be a full-time employee who holds regular faculty rank and who is appointed without term, i.e. tenured, at the time of the application. Faculty members must have matching funding or demonstrate attempts to obtain matching funding for their leave. This requirement allows awarding a larger a number of study leaves as well as earning deserved recognition for those successful in obtaining funding.
Selection: The Office of the Provost awards Faculty Study Leave upon recommendation of an advisory committee composed of former Faculty Study Leave awardees. Faculty members who accept a Faculty Study Leave agree to serve subsequently on the Faculty Study Leave Application Review Committee, if asked.
Study Leave Period: Leave may be taken during either the Fall or Spring Semester of the academic year following announcement of the award. The faculty member may take one semester leave at full pay or two semesters of leave at half-salary, with full fringe benefits. Specific arrangements must be approved by the chair and unit head (college/school/institute).
Deadline: For current deadline information see: http://www.gmu.edu/departments/provost/support/studyleave.htm.
Format: Study Leave applications should include a cover sheet and brief narrative. Four copies of the application must be submitted to the Provost's Office, Mason Hall D109, MSN 3A2. See additional notes on FORMAT on the attached sheet.
Letter of Support: You must request that at least one outside expert submit a letter of support directly to the Provost's Office. A brief vita of the expert should accompany the letter. The letter should address the quality and importance of the proposed activity, the competence of the applicant to complete the activity and the adequacy of the proposed plan. The letter must be received by November 15, 2002. A copy of the applicant's vita must be attached to each copy of the proposal application (four copies total).
Eligibility for Faculty Study Leave: An applicant must be a full-time employee of George Mason University who has held a regular faculty rank for at least four years at the time of application and be appointed without term, i.e. with tenure. Individuals whose rank is prefixed with Affiliate, Adjunct, Research or Visiting are not eligible. Faculty must obtain matching funds or demonstrate substantial attempts to obtain matching funds for their leave. A total of seven academic years (which may include time spent on leave of absence) must elapse between the award of successive Faculty Study Leaves. Full-time administrators who otherwise meet these criteria are eligible. A faculty member who receives a Faculty Study Leave agrees to remain a full-time employee of the university for at least one academic year after the conclusion of the leave.
Project Report: At the completion of a study leave, faculty must file with the Office of the Provost a one-page report of accomplishments and plans for continuing activities related to the study leave. Academic units may establish additional reporting
requirements.
Format: The application should include the following:
A. Cover Sheet including a one-paragraph project summary. The summary should be written in such a way as to make clear to non-specialist readers the procedures and significance of the proposed project.
B. Description of project (maximum of 3 pages, single-spaced) for non-specialist readers. The description should be brief, non-technical, and should be composed as follows:
1. State the central problem to be addressed by this research and its scholarly or creative significance.
2. Outline the objectives of the project, the methods to be employed, and (where relevant) its relation to existing literature in the field.
3. Describe how this project will enable you to compete successfully for external research support. Identify likely sources of such support. Describe your timetable for seeking such support, including program application deadlines if known.

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Leave Application Procedures
Faculty members who are Assistant Professors in their initial, three-year term and wish to apply for the Tenure-Track study leave should read the appropriate policy statement then complete the approval form. The form should be routed through the Department Chair, where applicable, then through the Dean/Director to David Rossell in the Provost Office. The faculty member, as well as all approvers, will receive a copy of the signed form. Administrators in the faculty member’s department should send a tracking document indicating the leave to Human Resources through the Provost Office. The Provost Office will provide one course matrix replacement during the semester that the faculty member is on study leave. Questions should be addressed to David Rossell, Associate Provost for Personnel and Budget.

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Leave Policy (02-22-01)
All initial hire, tenure-track Assistant Professors will be granted a one-semester study leave. (NOTE: An "initial hire, tenure-track Assistant Professor" is defined as an individual hired on a first three-year renewable term.) This leave may occur during the first five years of the tenure-track cycle. It is designed to assist a tenure-track faculty member in advancing his or her research, scholarly, or creative activities. The timing of this leave will be subject to approval by both the respective local academic unit head and the appropriate Dean/Director. The Office of the Provost will provide one-course matrix replacement funding per granted leave request. This leave policy is, in no way, intended to conflict with an existing local academic unit practice; rather than reducing a local academic unit’s flexibility, its intent is to enhance and supplement existing practices. During the semester either prior to or succeeding the faculty member’s leave, the local academic unit may need to ask the recipient to teach one additional course in order to accommodate this leave. This policy will be effective, retroactively to initial hires, as of academic year 1999.

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