Jepson Fellowship Program
A generous gift to the University from Alice Andrews Jepson ’64 and Robert Jepson, her husband, enabled the creation of the Jepson Fellows Program. This initiative is designed to enhance the University’s ability to recruit and retain the highest quality junior faculty members and to support them in their quest for promotions and tenure.
Each Fellowship award will be for one full academic year, and the recipient will have his or her teaching load reduced by one half during the time of the Fellowship. In accordance with established University of Mary Washington Foundation spending policies, proceeds from the gift will pay for the costs of hiring replacement instructors to cover the courses that the Jepson Fellows do not teach in the year of their fellowship. The number of fellowships named for 2007-08 (and for all years thereafter) will depend upon the quality of the applications received and the amount of funds available from the proceeds of the gift (these vary depending on the investment performance of the University’s endowment funds).
This program enhances the recruitment and retention of exceptional junior faculty members by providing opportunities for a major reassignment of the faculty member’s time, thereby enabling those persons to complete professional development (research and/or creative projects) that they might not otherwise find the time to do.
Selection of Jepson Fellows
1. Eligibility. Jepson Fellows are awarded following an application and review process. To be eligible, the person must be at the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor and must have completed at least three years at the University of Mary Washington by the time the Fellowship would begin. A person may be awarded only one Jepson Fellowship. Persons who are named Jepson Fellows are, therefore, ineligible to apply in future years.
Jepson Fellowships are awarded to individual faculty members. A person working on a collaborative project may apply for the Fellowship. However, only one UMW faculty collaborator working on a given project may apply for the Fellowship. Should an individual working on a collaborative project decide to apply for the Fellowship, he/she must explain in the project proposal the nature and extent of her/his role on the collaborative project. Should a UMW faculty member receive a Jepson Fellowship to support her/his work on that project, no other UMW faculty member working on the same project may apply for a Jepson Fellowship in the future to support work on the same project.
2. Procedure. Applicants should submit the following materials: (A) a description of a substantial research project/creative project (following the format described below) to be completed during the Fellowship that would have a direct and significant connection to the applicant’s teaching and work with students at the University and would also contribute to the individual’s academic discipline in an important way; (B) a copy of the Curriculum Vitae; (C) a one-page teaching statement in which the applicant describes herself/himself as a teacher; (D) a syllabus for one course taught within the last two years (along with supplementary material related to that course such as assignment descriptions); and (E) a completed cover sheet with the required signatures.
Faculty at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies should send applications to Meta R. Braymer, Dean of the Faculty. Eight copies of the complete application must be received by the Dean’s Office no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, September 19, 2008.
Faculty of the Fredericksburg campus applying for Jepson Fellowships should contact Dr. John Morello, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, for details about the deadline and application requirements.
3. Application Review Criteria. Applicants for the Fellowship must be, first and foremost, outstanding teachers; must have already begun to establish themselves in their academic field; must have an impressive record of contribution to the life of the University outside the classroom; and must have a compelling proposal for a significant research/creative project that will bear directly on the applicant’s classes and work with students (such as enhancing one’s work with undergraduate or graduate research projects) and that will also contribute to the life of the person’s academic field.
4. Decision Making Process. The Board of Visitors will name the Fellowship recipients based on recommendations by the President and the Academic Deans of the University’s two campuses. The CGPS Faculty Development and Grant Awards Committee will review applications submitted by faculty from the Stafford campus and will advise the Dean on recommendations to be made to the Board of Visitors. Recommendations will be presented to the Board at its November 2008 meeting.
5. Reporting Requirements. As a condition for receiving the award, Fellowship winners are expected to devise and carry out plans for publicly sharing the results of their Fellowship project with University of Mary Washington colleagues, students (in addition to one’s classes), and the local community. Generally, such plans are implemented near the end of the spring semester of the Fellowship year or early during the fall semester immediately following the Fellowship year. Additional details will be explained in the letters announcing the fellowship appointment once those decisions are made by the Board of Visitors.
6. Format for the Research/Creative Project Proposal.
Each proposal must follow the format listed below. The project description (maximum of five pages) is a detailed, specific statement of what the project one expects to accomplish during the fellowship period.
Address each item separately. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.
A. Project Description. Describe the project for the Fellowship. Identify the relevant problem or question this project addresses.
B. Goals and Specific Objectives. Describe the goals and objectives of the project, and the schedule (dates) by which those objectives will be met. In the case of collaborative projects, outline of the details of collaboration is required, and it must describe the specific roles and responsibilities assumed by the individual seeking a Jepson Fellowship for her/his part on the collaborative project.
C. Potential Impact and Significance. Discuss the importance of the project, and explain why it is deserving of Fellowship support. In particular, discuss how this project will bear directly on the applicant’s classes and work with students. The proposal should also describe how the project’s results might advance scholarship in the applicant’s discipline.
D. Procedures and Methods. Describe how the objectives and goals of the project will be achieved. Describe any logistical arrangements that are essential to the project (e.g., explain how access will be gained to material that is not generally available to the public, describe any pre-planning work that has already been done on the project, etc.).
E. Anticipated Results. Describe the materials or outcomes that will ensue from the project and explain how the results or products of the project will be evaluated. Discuss the criteria that will be used to determine if the project’s goals and objectives have been achieved.
F. Dissemination of Results. Describe the plans for publicly sharing the results of their Fellowship project with University of Mary Washington colleagues, students (in addition to one’s classes), and the local community.
Jepson Fellowship Application SummaryApplications are due on September 19, 2008. A complete application includes:
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