Faculty Research Seminars, School of Arts & Sciences

I.     About the Faculty Research Seminars

The Faculty Research Seminars are sponsored by the Office of the Dean, the School of Arts and Sciences. The seminars are intended to bring together Hunter College faculty, graduate students, advanced undergraduates, faculty from neighboring institutions, and visiting scholars in interdisciplinary or disciplinary groups for the purpose of exploring topics of common intellectual and scholarly concern. These seminars are designed to offer opportunities through regularly scheduled meetings for faculty to investigate and develop new areas of research and teaching through sustained intellectual collaboration.  Past participants have found the seminars especially useful in advancing their research agendas.

II.     What is a research seminar?

Seminars require a core group of at least two core faculty members, who take primary responsibility for organizing the seminar, planning topics for discussion, inviting speakers from outside the College, and providing opportunities for faculty and graduate students to present works-in-progress. Seminars must meet regularly (at least five times per semester), and they should be open to all interested faculty and graduate students, subject to appropriate limits of size. The core faculty members of the seminar are expected to present a substantial work-in-progress at least once each year. Other members of the seminar, including the graduate students, may be invited to present work-in-progress. As in any other formal seminar, everyone, including core faculty, participating faculty, and graduate students, is expected to attend each session of the seminar. We encourage seminars to invite visitors to make additional presentations to a wider College audience. We also encourage seminars to mount a website or BB site that will serve to notify members of seminar events and to post such information on College and A&S web calendars.

III.     What are the core goals of the research seminars?

• Support faculty research and scholarship;
• Increase faculty publication through presentation of works-in-progress;
• Explore issues across disciplinary or intellectual boundaries;
• Support collaborative research;
• Give graduate students and advanced undergraduates an opportunity to participate in advanced scholarly discussions;
• Professionalize graduate students with an eye to employment upon degree completion;
• Position faculty participants to apply for grants including those sponsored by agencies such as the NEH and ACLS;
• Provide a forum for faculty to explore new directions for courses that they will teach and create new teaching collaborations.

IV.     Who is eligible to form a seminar?

All A&S tenure-track and tenured faculty members may submit a proposal for a seminar to investigate a topic relating to shared research interests.  Faculty in the humanities and social sciences are especially encouraged to apply.

V.     Proposal requirements

1)      An abbreviated (two-page) vita of the core faculty members.

2)       A one-or two-page statement of the nature and significance of the problem or issue to which the seminar will be devoted. The statement should project possible teaching and research outcomes.

3)      The names of other potential participants, both faculty and graduate students.

4)      The names and institutional affiliations of potential visiting speakers, with a brief description of the relevance of their current scholarship to the enterprise of the seminar.

5)      A detailed budget.

VI.     Funding of proposals and annual report

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee that will make funding recommendations to the Dean of Arts and Sciences.  Final decisions will be made by the Dean in consultation with the Provost.

Funding for individual seminars is competitive and subject to the availability of funds. Up to $4,000 per seminar may be approved for such expenses as travel and reasonable honoraria for invited speakers, photocopying of materials for circulation in advance of meetings, light refreshments, and other operating expenses. An additional $500 will be provided for a College Assistant to provide administrative support to the seminar.  Honoraria for visiting speakers are limited to $150 for junior faculty and $300 for senior faculty. No more than $2,000 can be budgeted for book purchases.

All seminars will be required to submit an annual report to the Dean.  The annual report should detail seminar activities, teaching and research outcomes for participants, and account of expenditures.

VII.  Budget

The School of Arts and Sciences will fund a maximum of 7 faculty research seminars in AY 14-15. 

VIII.     Proposal Procedure

Completed applications for the Faculty Research Seminars should be submitted to the Dean's Office by Friday, May 31, 2015 (for the following academic year).  Detailed submission instructions will be available as that date approaches. Decisions on the funding of the seminars will be communicated in early June.