In addition to leave application materials that may be required and submitted to the Dean of the Faculty or Associate Dean, faculty members are to enter their proposed proposal and attach any other documents specified in the Faculty Leave Portal. To access the system, faculty members enter their Dartmouth identification information and follow the instructions listed.
The Junior Faculty Fellowship program is granted to all Assistant Professors following reappointment to a second term who will be in their 4th or 5th year in that rank on or before July 1 of the academic year. The award permits these Assistant Professors to pursue study and research of significance to their own professional development. Such leaves are granted on the assumption that colleagues and students will benefit from the enlarged perspectives of the faculty member. Accordingly, acceptance of a Junior Faculty Fellowship carries with it a commitment to return to the faculty for no less than one year. Fellowships may not be used during a terminal year. One of these Fellows will be designated the Class of 1962 Fellow.
Please follow this link to learn more about Junior Faculty Fellowships
Senior Faculty Grants are made each year to a limited number of full Professors and Associate Professors on a competitive basis. Beginning in 1977, the Trustees initiated a program of grants for scholarly research to senior members of the faculty with the understanding that such grants normally will not be awarded to the same person more frequently than once every four years. In practice, because of the high level of competition, the normal period between awards has been eight or more years. The purpose of this program is to provide one term of released time for senior members of the faculty who have established reputations in a given field or are venturing into a new field outside their accustomed area of study. It is expected that most applicants will seek support for research projects of unusual promise, research likely to lead to publication. In the past, six Senior Faculty Grants have been awarded each year. It should be noted that the number of applications has increased to a level which, in some years, does not permit support for more than one in six of the requests. Senior Faculty Grants are awarded based on the assumption that colleagues and students will benefit from the enlarged perspectives of the faculty member. Accordingly, acceptance of a Senior Faculty Grant carries with it a commitment to return to the faculty for no less than one year.
More information regarding Senior Faculty Grants may be found here.
All members of the faculty who have spent the requisite amount of time in the ranks of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor are eligible to apply for sabbatical leave. Applications for sabbatical must be approved by the department or program chair, the Arts & Sciences Fiscal Office, and the Divisional Associate Dean. Each tenure-track faculty member is eligible for sabbatical leave on the following basis: 1 term in the year following 9 terms of full-time academic assignment (usually taken in the fourth year), 2 terms after 18 terms of full-time academic assignment, or 3 terms after 27 terms of full-time academic assignment. In no case can sabbatical credits accrue beyond one year's compensation (i.e., 27 credits). Faculty begin to accrue sabbatical leave on appointment to one of the three professorial ranks (assistant, associate, or full). In rare instances, a faculty member may elect a 1-1/2 term sabbatical after 15 terms of full-time academic assignment. This option has been elected on occasion by persons who have obtained outside funding to cover salary for part of the leave period. No leave term (sabbatical, junior faculty fellowship, senior faculty grant, research leave, leave own charges, prestigious award, maternity leave, parental leave, medical leave) will count toward sabbatical accrual. However, effective with the 2012-13 academic year, terms spent in residence (formal teaching and/or other College activities in an R term) during the academic year in which one takes a sabbatical leave do count toward sabbatical leave accrual.
Part-time faculty members earn sabbatical leave on the same schedule as full-time faculty. Certain terms are not considered in computing sabbatical credit accrual. Terms in which a faculty member is on leave, including Junior Faculty Fellowships, Senior Faculty Grants, Leave on Own Charges, Maternity Leave, Prestigious Awards, research or family leave, or extra teaching for additional compensation, do not count toward the next sabbatical. The sabbatical leave is considered part of the faculty member's service to the College; therefore the College continues all benefits, such as TIAA retirement premiums and group insurance contributions, during the sabbatical leave. Since the sabbatical leave is intended to provide a faculty member with an uninterrupted opportunity for research and intellectual refreshment, no faculty member may accept a teaching appointment, a visiting professorship, or any other employment during such a leave. This restriction does not apply to an unpaid research post at another institution. Sabbatical leaves are granted on the assumption that colleagues and students will benefit from the enlarged perspectives of the faculty member. Accordingly, acceptance of a sabbatical leave carries with it a commitment to return to the faculty for no less than one year.
An individual approaching retirement from the faculty will be eligible for a leave of one or two terms if at least one year of service remains before retirement. A leave of three terms may be granted if at least two years of service remain before retirement. Sabbatical leaves are not granted to persons who have elected FRO or to persons in a period of terminal appointment. Application for sabbatical leave should be initiated in the fall of the year prior to that in which the leave is to take place. The applicant should submit a Leave Request Form and specific study proposal to the department Chair. This form and proposal, accompanied by departmental recommendation, will then be forwarded to the Arts & Sciences Fiscal Office and Associate Dean of the appropriate division for action. Often a faculty member will elect to combine a Junior Faculty Fellowship or Senior Faculty Grant with a sabbatical to provide an extended period of unencumbered research. In addition, since faculty members normally teach three out of four terms, it is often possible for the department to accommodate a schedule that will allow a free term to be contiguous with a sabbatical.
Faculty who are awarded fellowships of $40,000 or more from prestigious granting institutions, e.g. the Guggenheim Foundation, NEH, Fulbright Foundation, etc., and where it is stipulated by those institutions that the faculty member be released from teaching for one year, may apply to the Associate Dean for support under the Prestigious Awards Program. If approved, Dartmouth will make up the difference between the award amount and the faculty member's base salary while continuing to provide all benefits. At the end of that year, the faculty member will owe Dartmouth one course normally to be taught as an overload in the year following the award. Because funding for this program is limited, faculty who receive release time under this program will be ineligible for a four-year period. Prestigious Awards are granted on the assumption that colleagues and students will benefit from the enlarged perspectives of the faculty member. Accordingly, acceptance of support under the Prestigious Award policy carries with it a commitment to return to the faculty for no less than one year.
Currently teaching loads are established to permit a significant portion of the individual faculty member's time to be devoted to research. While sponsored projects are encouraged where these will further a faculty member's research and the College's purposes, the College ordinarily does not expect nor seek salary support from research grants for a faculty member's academic year effort on a sponsored research project when normal departmental or program assignments can be carried on concurrently. In certain circumstances a faculty member may seek released time in the form of a reduced departmental/program workload to permit additional time on a sponsored research project. In these cases, as indicated above, arrangements must be worked out with the department and/or program involved to schedule the release time necessary, and funds should be requested in the proposal to support such release time. Some grants require that the College "cost share" a portion of the work to be performed under the grant. On occasion this can be done by allocating to the project a portion of the salary expense paid by the College appropriate to the academic year effort expended by the faculty member(s) involved. This arrangement is consistent with the current College practice of underwriting fully all academic year effort, both teaching and research, except where a reduced teaching or other assignment is required. On occasion, however, a faculty member may wish to request release time in the form of a research leave (RESL) to pursue sponsored research during a term that would otherwise have been part of the faculty member's three term academic year obligation to the College. In such cases the faculty member must have sponsored funding for each complete term (one-third of the nine-month salary) and apply for a RESL on the Leave Request Form. When on a RESL faculty continue to be paid through the Dartmouth College payroll system and receive full benefits. Faculty members on RESL will work with the Arts & Sciences Fiscal Office to ensure pay is drawn from the appropriate sources. Faculty do not accrue sabbatical for terms on RESL
A pregnant tenure-track faculty member is entitled to maternity leave at full compensation for one of the three residence terms. This leave entails a one-course reduction of the faculty member’s teaching load. Maternity leave may be combined with parental leave (see below). Maternity leave is granted to tenure-track faculty without loss of seniority or benefits. Such leave, like other leaves, does not count toward sabbatical accrual. Requests for maternity leave should be sent to the department and/or program Chair(s) and the appropriate Associate Dean(s) by completing the standard Leave Request Form. Maternity leave for tenure-track faculty will count as part of the twelve-week Family and Medical Leave allotment. Only one maternity leave per pregnancy is allowed and the leave must be taken in the quarter during or immediately after the birth of the child. For more information about Family and Medical Leave, please contact the Human Resources Benefits Office.
Pregnant faculty members in the rank of Lecturer or Senior Lecturer who have been continuously eligible for benefits for at least the preceding 24 months may request a maternity leave. This leave entails a one-course reduction of the faculty member’s teaching load without loss of compensation. Requests for maternity leave should be sent to the department and/or program Chair and the appropriate Associate Dean(s). Maternity leave for Lecturers and Senior Lecturers will count as part of the twelve week Family and Medical Leave allotment. For more information about Family and Medical Leave, please contact the Human Resources Benefits Office.
A tenure-track faculty member who becomes the primary care-provider for one or more children under six years of age is entitled to parental leave at full compensation for one of the three residence terms. This leave entails a one-course reduction in teaching load within a one-year period of the arrival. Parental leaves are intended to provide members of the faculty relief from their academic duties in order to assume substantial and sustained responsibility for the care of their young children. Requests for parental leave should be sent to the department and/or program Chair and the appropriate Associate Dean(s) by completing the standard Leave Request Form. In no case will parental leave be awarded more than once in a calendar year even if more than one child is involved. Such leave, like other leaves, does not count toward sabbatical accrual.
Faculty members who are enrolled in the Dartflex benefit program and are disabled as a result of injury or illness may apply for long-term disability payments after six months. Before that time, the Dean of Faculty Office will work with disabled faculty to provide paid leave and to cover their commitments to the College. Faculty who require such support should apply to their Associate Dean. Normally, a statement signed by a medical doctor is required.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 provides eligible faculty and Research Associates a total of twelve work weeks of paid and/or unpaid leave during any twelve month period for specific reasons. For more information and instructions on how to apply for FMLA, please contact the Human Resources Benefits Office.
Leaves of absence on own charges (LOC) from the faculty are granted to enable faculty members to pursue professional activities outside of Dartmouth under circumstances that are judged to be reasonable for the institution as well as the individual making the request. Such leaves have been granted for periods of up to one year. In exceptional cases, most often related to government service, leaves for a two-year period have been approved. Frequently such leaves are taken to enable faculty to accept fellowship or research awards administered by an outside agency, to accept a visiting appointment to another academic institution, or to engage in public service. However, leaves of absence are normally not granted to permit a person to undertake a probationary teaching appointment at another college or university. Written requests for leave of absence should be made on a Leave Request Form and presented to the department or program for endorsement and forwarded to the Dean of Faculty Office. Approval by the Dean of Faculty is conditional on providing the department sufficient lead time to accommodate the absence by a suitable replacement and to inform students well in advance that a faculty member will not be in residence in a particular term. In addition, the granting of such leaves is made with the understanding that the individual will return to the faculty for no less than one year. Faculty members on LOC may wish to continue their medical, dental, and/or life insurance benefits at their own expense and should contact the Benefits Office directly (603) 646-3588 prior to beginning the LOC. College contributions to the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan cease during the LOC.