Support for New Faculty

A NOTE FROM THE PROVOST/ DEAN OF THE FACULTY

Colgate University is an academically rigorous community with a dual mission.

Our faculty conduct cutting-edge research within and across its divisions and departments. Simultaneously, we are dedicated to transformative teaching, educating new generations of students while embracing the 13 goals of a Colgate education.

To aid in the success of this dual mission, Colgate supports its faculty members with an extensive array of programs and benefits. Indeed, the Institution’s commitment to attracting and supporting outstanding professors is a primary objective of The Third-Century Plan, a long-term framework for Colgate’s success.

We are delighted to have you become a part of the University’s proud history and its ambitious future. We look forward to the contributions you will make to the creation knowledge on campus; the education of Colgate undergraduates as future leaders in a complex world; and to the diversity and vibrance of the Colgate and Hamilton communities.

Sincerely,

Lesleigh Cushing, Provost and Dean of the Faculty

Office of the Dean of the College

DoC Guiding Principles and Mission.pdf

COMPETITIVE
START-UP PACKAGES

Awarded by the provost at the time of hire, start-up grants are available for the first one to two years in which a faculty member holds a tenure-stream position. These funds are intended to help new professors launch their research activity and ensure a successful start to a scholarly career at Colgate.

Start-up grants, covering items not already supported through other Colgate funding or resources, are tailored to the situation and are negotiated at the time of hire, in consultation with the department chair/program director, academic division director(s), associate dean, and associate provost.

Categories allowed under start-up grant funding include:

travel and living expenses for research trips during the first year (including the summer following the first year of appointment) that are crucial for the success of a faculty member’s initial scholarly project(s) at Colgate
equipment
computing hardware and software
research supplies
experiment participant fees
books, database subscriptions, and periodicals related to research interests
non-student support for translation, transcription, computer programming, and assistance for field research

LIBERAL ARTS CORE CURRICULUM INCENTIVES PROGRAM FOR FACULTY

Colgate’s Liberal Arts Core Curriculum is a point of distinction for the Institution and a source of connection across generations of students and alumni. A common intellectual project for the University, the three components of the Core expose students to diverse fields of study and modes of intellectual and creative inquiry across the curriculum.

The Liberal Arts Core Incentives Program provides a system for mentoring new pre-tenure faculty, whose participation in the Core requires them to develop materials and pedagogical strategies that may lie largely outside their field of graduate specialization.

Tenured, experienced Core professors mentor pre-tenure faculty members, who attend their mentor’s course in the first semester and complete all course readings. Mentors and pre-tenure faculty meet regularly to discuss class content and pedagogy. In addition, pre-tenure faculty attend staff meetings sponsored by the relevant core component, including cross-component teaching tables held for all new teachers of the core. Mentors then assist pre-tenure faculty members in the preparation of course syllabi and proposals and visit junior faculty members’ core classes on a regular basis.

By participating in the program, pre-tenure faculty receive an additional one course-load credit for teaching their first course in the common core.

Visit colgate.edu/corementoring for more details.

HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING

Colgate’s access to research computing resources is greater than many of our peer institutions. The University’s research computing hardware infrastructure includes a diverse mix of resources, such as workstation computers, parallel computing clusters, virtual machines, computers dedicated to scientific instruments, and cloud resources. New faculty members conducting research that relies substantially on computing resources will consult with a high-performance computing (HPC) specialist at strategic times during the interview and hiring process to ensure that they make the best possible use of existing resources in their request for start-up funds.

FOUR COURSE PRE-TENURE LEAVE

Time is a necessity, not a luxury, when it comes to launching a career as a tenured professor. Therefore, Colgate’s start-up package also includes two semesters of leave at full pay in the year following successful passage of third-year review.

EXTERNAL GRANT SUPPORT

Colgate’s Office of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations secures financial support from foundations, corporations, and government sources for projects that support teaching, learning, and research at Colgate University. Grants office staff work one-on-one with faculty, helping to locate potential sources of funding, discussing proposal ideas, assisting with budgets and project development as well as reading and commenting on drafts of proposals in progress.
Visit colgate.edu/university-grants-and-sponsored-research for details.

Through the diligence of the grants office and the academic rigor of Colgate faculty, the University enjoys a high degree of success in its applications for external funding. Between fiscal years 2015 and 2020, Colgate averaged a 55% success rate on its National Science Foundation grant applications alone, compared to the agency average of roughly 25%. These applications have crossed the natural and social sciences, from biology to geography. Sponsored research proposals submitted to all grant sources between fiscal years 2015 and 2020 were awarded at a rate of about 50%.

COMPETITIVE BOOK DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

Newly introduced as part of The Third-Century Plan’s faculty retention strategies, Colgate’s Book Development Workshops offer selected faculty members the opportunity to receive in-person constructive criticism on book manuscripts from experts in their field. In the workshop setting, the faculty member will receive transformative feedback about readying a manuscript in its final stages for submission to an appropriate press.

ONGOING SUPPORT

Colgate provides additional resources through the Faculty Research Council and other institutional structures.

Visit colgate.edu/fundingopportunities for details.

Pre-tenure faculty also enjoy Research Council Discretionary Grants of up to $3,500/year for qualifying expenses associated with individual and collaborative research and teaching. The University provides up to $2,000 for annual professional conference travel expenses, with an additional $1,000 available for international conferences.

HEALTHCARE
AND OTHER BENEFITS

Colgate prides itself on the scope and quality of the benefits offered to our employees. Every attempt is made to meet essential needs on a competitive basis while maintaining fiscal responsibilities.

The Colgate Benefits page was designed to provide basic descriptions of the types of benefits available for Colgate employees. A downloadable employee benefits brochure is available at that site.

Links to our insurance providers, other benefit providers, and retirement plan vendors can be found at the Colgate Employee Benefits page.

FACULTY MORTGAGE INTEREST
REIMBURSAL PROGRAM

Colgate will provide eligible faculty members who purchase their primary, single-family residence within a three mile aerial radius of the Colgate Memorial Chapel or within the Hamilton Central School District with an annual taxable reimbursement to assist with mortgage interest payments for a period of up to 10 years. The program is designed to encourage newly hired faculty members to live in close proximity to campus, thereby contributing to the residential nature of the University while simultaneously invigorating the Hamilton community.

FACULTY HOUSING LOAN PROGRAM

Colgate provides tenure-stream faculty members with housing loans of up to $20,000 to assist in the initial purchase of a primary residence within a 50-mile radius of the University. These unsecured loans are made at the long-term, semiannual Applicable Federal Rate prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service for the month in which the loan is made. Repayment is made monthly over a 10-year period via payroll deductions.

COLGATE HIGHER EDUCATION GRANT (CHEG)

Colgate University currently grants an amount up to one-half of Colgate’s tuition for any eligible child of an eligible employee who matriculates and attends an accredited college or university in pursuit of an initial undergraduate degree on at least a half-time basis. In the case of two eligible parents, the total grant the two employees can receive together for an eligible child will not exceed one-half of Colgate’s tuition. To be eligible, a child must be a natural or adopted child, or the dependent stepchild, of an eligible Colgate employee. This grant is available for a total of eight semesters or the equivalent if the child attends a school with a different academic schedule.

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