Pre-Promotion Grants

Assistant Professors eligible for promotion to Associate Professor are invited to request funding to support the completion of scholarship or creative activity in the humanities in advance of their candidacy for promotion.

Faculty may request one of the following forms of support in their nominal third year at Assistant Professor rank, to be used during the fourth year.

• A two-course reassignment
• A one-course reassignment and a $3,000 grant for research underwriting (or for a summer stipend upon request)
• $5,000 grant for research underwriting (all or part of which can be provided as a summer stipend upon request)

Course reassignments make available funding to cover the cost of replacement instruction for one to two courses. Approval for the reassignment must be granted by the recipient's dean and chair or program director.

Research underwriting refers to funds available to cover research costs, either via reimbursement or direct purchase by the Center on behalf of the recipient. 

Summer stipends refer to supplemental income paid to the recipient via payroll. Please note that stipends are taxed, whereas research underwriting funds are not. See the FAQ page for more information on how this can affect award amounts.

Faculty should apply in January of their third year, for funding to be available during their fourth year.

Faculty hired with time credited toward promotion should still apply during their third actual year employed by Drake on the tenure track, even if credit-towards-tenure makes this technically their "fourth year."

Recipients electing to take $3,000 or more as a summer stipend may not teach during that summer.

Deadline

The deadline for pre-promotion grants awarded in academic year 2023-24 is January 27, 2022, for consideration at the Board’s first spring meeting on Feb. 3. Hence, faculty entering their third year in fall 2022 should begin planning ahead for this grant request. Please note, unlike most other grant categories, this application has a single (not a rolling) deadline.

Criteria

The following criteria will guide the board in its deliberations. The proposed project should:

• promise completion within, or shortly after, the support period
• significantly advance the applicant’s timely candidacy for promotion
• engage with humanities-related topics and methods
• be of high merit, promising publication or other discipline-appropriate public-making subject to peer review

Additional Information

Completed applications should include a project narrative and a current curriculum vitae. Faculty requesting funds to underwrite the direct costs of conducting research or creative activity should also submit a detailed budget, and are encouraged to use the Provost’s Uniform Budget Checklist to do so. Those requesting course-reassignment funding must secure approval for the reassignment(s) from the Dean and their department chair or program director.

Managing Expeditures

The Center for the Humanities requires funding recipients and Center-supported program/event organizers to observe Drake University accounting guidelines. The University's tax-free status depends upon uniform observance of these guidelines. Expenses incurred in contravention of these guidelines will not be reimbursed. For more information, please read our grant management page.

Reporting

Recipients of funding from the Center for the Humanities are asked to provide reports on the impact and effect of the activities funded.

Acknowledging the Center

The Center’s support must be acknowledged in the published work and, when possible, in announcements, presentations, and publicity materials connected to it. Please see the acknowledgments page for examples of appropriate formulations of acknowledgment.

Apply

To apply, please email your application and CV as attachments to humanities.center@drake.edu. The first two items in all applications should be (1) the amount requested and (2) the budget breakdown for the amount requested. We will also eagerly read about your project's details, timeline, and its importance to the Humanities at Drake and beyond, but we can only approve requests that include a total amount requested and a budget breakdown.