Research and Professional Growth Committee
Annual Report for 2012-13
The Research and Professional Growth Committee met nine times during the 2012-2013 academic year.
During a series of four meetings in August and September the committee worked to refine the
memorandum that outlines the Furman Standard program. This memorandum spells out the purpose of
Furman Standard and specifies details concerning the type of awards, the eligibility, the use of funds,
the application process, and the accountability of award recipients. This process culminated in the
committee meeting in January in which nine applications for the first two Faculty Research Grants were
evaluated. The two recipients of these grants will receive $3,000 of funding each year for three years.
The committee met on October 10 and again on October 22 to evaluate sabbatical leave applications for
the 2013-14 academic year. It recommended approval of thirty-four proposals; six of the thirty-four
were pre-tenure sabbaticals. Nine of the faculty applied for full-year sabbaticals at full-salary. The
committee considered these full-year, full-salary applications and made its recommendation to Dean
Beckford.
In November the committee evaluated thirteen grant applications and awarded a total of $17,799, for
twelve projects.
On March 19, 2013, the committee evaluated twenty proposals requesting a total of $47,814 for
projects during the May to November time period. A total of $28,418 was awarded.
The chair thanks all of the committee members for their thoughtful work throughout the year. He also
thanks Kevin Treu for his continued help with the RPG website.
Karen Buchmueller, Chemistry
David Gross, Music
Michelle Horhota, Psychology
Anne Leen, Classics
Doug Rall(Chair), Mathematics
Ty Tessitore, Political Science