Research & Scholarship Support

Accountability and support

During the semester, the CRS hosts a weekly write-on-site session, which are dedicated blocks of time when faculty can work independently on their research alongside colleagues. The regularly-scheduled research time and each other’s presence helps us stay on task! If you are interested in joining a write-on-site, please email crs@oxy.edu.

The CRS also hosts writing challenges. The goal is to spend a certain number of hours and days working on research, for a minimum time each day. Anyone who meets the goal wins a prize!  (And faculty also receive strategies and tips, as well as cheerleading and praise from other participants, throughout the challenge.) During Spring '24, we will host two 14-day virtual writing challenges on Feb 12-26 and on April 1-15. Register for a writing challenge here. 

During breaks, the CRS hosts full day writing retreats . We provide a quiet space in which to work and keep you well fed throughout the day so you can work without interruption. When retreats are held in-person, meals are provided. Stay tuned for upcoming retreats.

Please subscribe to the CRS google calendar to see the write-on-sites, writing challenges, and other workshops/events on your own calendar. 

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Faculty Learning Communities

The CRS sponsors various kinds of faculty groups :

• Accountability groups : groups where each member outlines their research goals for the semester, making a week-by-week plan. Then, each week, group members check in to report on their progress, to discuss obstacles, and to celebrate successes.
   
• Feedback groups : groups where members read and give feedback on work-in-progress.
   
• Discussion groups : groups whose members want to address specific kinds of research issues (e.g., mid-career, primary caregiver, untenured faculty groups) or common intellectual questions; meetings are organized around shared readings and discussion topics.

Requests for faculty groups are filled on a rolling basis throughout the semester, though funds may diminish as the semester lengthens. To form a faculty group, make your request here. 

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Resources from the NCFDD

Occidental College holds an institutional membership for the NCFDD. All Occidental faculty can access the NCFDD's resources. Faculty can activate their NCFDD's accounts following these instructions. 

NCFDD content covers a broad spectrum of topics integral to academic life, such as techniques to enhance writing productivity, effective strategies for time management and prioritization, developing mentor relationships, strategies for securing external funding, and finding a healthy work-life balance. Access to NCFDD’s member platform offers a multitude of benefits including:

• Weekly Monday Motivator 
• Monthly Core Curriculum Webinars 
• Hidden Handbook series
• Monthly Guest Expert Webinars 
• Access to Dissertation Success Curriculum for graduate students 
• Private Discussion Forum for peer-mentoring, problem-solving, & moderated writing challenges 
• Unlimited access to the Member Library that includes webinar materials
• Accountability Buddy Matches
• 14-Day Writing Challenge: a 2-week free offering to foster consistent, productive writing habits and access to our WriteNow platform. Participants commit to daily writing, track progress, and engage with a supportive community

The Faculty Success Program (FSP) is a potent and comprehensive program aimed at increasing productivity and promoting work-life balance among faculty. It includes weekly training modules, small-group accountability calls, online community access, and one-on-one coaching opportunities. This program has an additional cost. Learn more about the program. Currently, the NFCDD is enrolling the Summer 2024 FSP (May 20th to July 28, 2024) and is offering priority decreased pricing ($4150).

• To apply for financial support from the Dean's Office to participate in the program, interested faculty should prepare a 1-2 page proposal describing the professional goals that they hope to accomplish. Please include a statement about why the FSP makes sense in Summer 2024 (as opposed to another semester or summer) and describe what other funds (if any) are available to contribute to the tuition.  
  • The deadline is March 1 at 5:00 pm, via email to crs@oxy.edu. The deadline is firm. Applicants will be asked to be attentive to their email over the next week, as registration will quickly follow. 

*Note that several Oxy faculty have successfully completed the FSP. Alums have stayed connected to eachother at Oxy through FLCs.* 

 

Post-Tenure Pathfinders Program is designed to guide FSP Alumni on charting their unique path after attaining tenure. The program focuses on mid-career transition and how to maintain momentum and significance in academia post-tenure. This program has an additional cost. Learn more about the program.

1-on-1 Coaching offers individualized guidance, problem-solving, and support to FSP Alumni. It's a personalized approach to mentoring where faculty members receive additional dedicated attention from our trained and experienced FSP coaches. This offering has an additional cost. Learn more about this offering.

The Teaching Toolkit Program provides faculty with an array of practical tools designed to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement. The program is rooted in research-based principles of pedagogy and offers strategies that can be immediately implemented. Through this platform, faculty members have access to a wealth of resources that address various aspects of teaching, such as designing an inclusive syllabus, creating engaging lectures, shaping effective assessments, and managing classroom dynamics. This program has an additional cost. Learn more about this program.

 

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Funding Opportunities

The College provides several internal funding opportunities for faculty: 

• Faculty research accounts: Each year, TTT faculty are granted $1,800 into their individual faculty research account to use for expenses related to their scholarly work (e.g., conference travel, fieldwork, books, etc.). Faculty may choose to allow the funds to accrue across multiple years, but there is a three year cap that disallows the funds to exceed $5,400. NTT represented by SEIU can consult their contract for resources that are available to them.         
• Faculty Enrichment grants: TTT faculty may apply for up to $5,000 for expenditures related to individual or collaborative research projects.  Faculty may receive a research faculty enrichment grant every other year. (Note: there are also faculty enrichment grants for course development to which faculty can apply in intervening years.
• MacArthur International travel funds: TTT faculty who are are sabbatical may apply for up to $3,000 for individual or collaborative research projects or pedagogical innovations that involve international travel.                                
• Article Production funds: Each year, faculty may apply for up to $750 to cover expenses related to article production (e.g., copyright/image permissions, color images, open-access, etc.). View a handy Open Access flow chart. Please note that the CRS Director will do their best to fund you should you need funds in excess of $750.
• Brown Humanities Book funds: Faculty in the Humanities may apply for up to $2,000 to cover expenses related to the production of a scholarly monograph.                                                                         
• The Center for Undergraduate Research provides small grants to faculty interested in collaborating with undergraduates.  
• The Center for Community Based Learning provides small grants to faculty who are presenting community-engaged scholarship at a conference or who are interested in attending conferences and workshops on community-engaged scholarship. To apply, email Celestina Castillo (castillo@oxy.edu).
• The New Harmonies Incubator Program provides faculty with mini grants for early-stage, exploratory interdisciplinary scholarship by providing faculty teams with stipends, student research support, and supplemental publication and travel funding. The program supports existing partnerships, but it also supports and encourages the development of new interdisciplinary collaborations. Applications for Summer 24 & AY 24-25 due March 1, 2024.

 

The College encourages faculty to apply for external grants and provides support in several ways: 

• The Sponsored Research Office supports faculty in the proposal process.       
• The following resources will aid in finding new grant opportunities.                   
  • Grants.gov YouTube channel
    • How to register and link to our organization
    • How to search for grants 
    • Download the app! 
  • CANDID (formerly Foundation Center)
    • Sign up to receive daily alerts & RFPs of interest              
• Indirect Cost Sharing: Faculty who are awarded external funding will receive 50% of the indirect costs funded by the grant to use as research funds.

Faculty who need financial support above and beyond these resources should speak with the Dean of the College.

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Other Resources

The CRS Moodle site (available to all Occidental faculty) provides faculty with sample materials, such as successful grant and fellowship applications and book proposals, as well as research productivity strategies, advice from editors, and scholarship on balancing research with teaching, service, and a happy life.

The CRS Director is available for  one-on-one consultations by appointment or by email to help devise a research plan, review a research proposal/narrative, to strategize, and to provide other kinds of support. To set up a consultation, please contact the CRS Director directly.