2016 Call for Applications: Professional Development Fund (PDF Grant for Lecturers and Other Represented Unit 18 Faculty at UC Berkeley)

Would you like to take a workshop to update your skills, attend a conference in Boston, do research in Brazil, or fieldwork in China? And have it paid for by the University of California? Apply for a Professional Development Fund Grant and make it happen.

Proposals are now being accepted for PDF 2016 grant funding. Grants of $500 to $10,000 are available for teaching, research, and scholarship. Professional Development Fund Grants are open to all Unit 18 non-Senate faculty (lecturers and other faculty covered by the Unit 18 contract) with teaching appointments on the UC Berkeley campus. You are eligible if you had or have an appointment during summer 2015, fall 2015, or spring 2016.

The Lecturers' Professional Development Fund supports lecturers and other eligible Unit 18 non-Senate faculty by funding professional development activities that can enhance scholarly and pedagogical endeavors, including intellectual and research activities that contribute to faculty scholarship and effectiveness as teachers and mentors.  In recent contract negotiations, UC-AFT bargained an increase in the Professional Development Fund from $135 to $200 per Unit 18 FTE, an increase of almost 50%.

Download the complete Call for Proposals for in-depth application directions.

See also our Frequently Asked Questions document.

Below is a list of the types of projects generally funded and those that are ineligible.  Also listed are a set of dates for deadlines and events.  

PDF Grant Proposals

Grants will fund proposals of $500-$10,000 that include, but are not limited to, the following items:

●      research expenses, including stipends for community participants;

●      academic training (e.g., taking courses related to teaching responsibilities at UCB);

●      seminar, workshop, conference or studio attendance fees;

●       projects in the arts;

●      software, hardware, and technical support equipment for use in research and/or teaching (including in special cases the purchase of books, films, or software in preparation for teaching assignments) that remain University property;

●      travel expenses related to teaching, research, or other scholarly endeavors;

●      equivalency funding or course release time. (See The Proposal Process below for special requirements.)

The Committee welcomes collaborative proposals by Unit 18 members, including, but not limited to, projects linked to co-taught courses, shared research endeavors, and collaborative presentations. The committee also welcomes proposals that request funds to augment departmental funding, although such funding is not required.  Departmental support, including partial funding if available, should be noted in your proposal.

The Committee is not able to fund the following items:

●      projects aimed primarily at supporting student work or creating new opportunities for students;

●      projects that cannot demonstrate an ultimate beneficial impact on pedagogy and/or the educational mission of the University;

●      projects that mainly benefit or involve institutions other than UCB;

●      projects seeking funds for the production or promotion of publications;

●      salary or stipend for the applicant or a graduate student;

●      expenses for colleagues who are not co-applicants (travel, fees, etc.);

●       incomplete or late submissions.

Please note the following dates

●       PDF Reception: Wednesday, February 24,  2016, 5:15-7:30 pm.
You are invited to attend a reception for previous PDF grant winners. We urge applicants to come and talk to committee members and former grant winners about the program. The reception will be held in the Ethnic Studies Library, 30 Stephens Hall.

●      PDF Proposal Workshops: Thursday, March 10, 2016, and Wednesday, March 16, 2016 
All applicants are welcome to meet with former PDF Committee members and recipients to ask specific questions about their in-progress proposals. Times and locations TBA.

●      Proposal Deadline: Monday, March 28, 2016, 4:00 pm.
Email proposals to appolicy@berkeley.edu. No late proposals will be accepted.

●      Award Announcement: Friday, April 15, 2016.

Professional Development Funding Committee

Professional Development Funding Committee 

Kim Freeman, College Writing Programs 

Raymond Hawkins, Department of Economics 

Cecilia Cissell Lucas, IAS/Global Poverty and Practice 

Aparajita Nanda, African American Studies 

Margi Wald, College Writing Programs, Committee Chair