Please note: The application portal for the Spring 2025 application cycle of the VPA Faculty Enrichment Fund is now closed.
The VPA Faculty Enrichment Fund provides small financial awards offered on a bi-annual to support a variety of faculty activities. Funding may be requested to support project start-up, project completion, faculty development, or enrichment of programs related to the disciplines in Art, Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Creative Arts Therapy, Design, Drama, Film and Media Arts, and Music. The VPA Faculty Enrichment Fund provides grants of up to $2,500.
All full-time VPA faculty who are tenured, tenure track, and non-tenure track are eligible to apply. Postdoctoral scholars, visiting faculty, and part-time faculty are not eligible to apply for VPA Faculty Enrichment Fund grants; however, part-time faculty can seek funding through the Adjuncts United Professional Development Fund. Eligible applicants must demonstrate their efforts to secure funding for proposed activities from their school or department prior to the submission of a Faculty Enrichment Fund application.
To allow for the funding of multiple projects, 2023-24 awardees are ineligible to apply in 2024-25. They will be eligible to apply again in 2025-26.
Applicants must provide a detailed budget using the template provided. Proposals submitted without a budget in this format will be returned without review. Justification for all costs must be included for each line item in the budget. Examples of allowable costs include (but are not limited to):
travel costs for conference travel or other activities contributing to faculty enrichment
editing or image production costs for publications
training, workshops or other professional development costs
performance or exhibit-related costs
software, supplies, or other related tools and materials essential to the proposed work (purchases of software or any technological device must be approved by Michael Currie, associate director of IT, mcurrie@syr.edu)
support for hourly work by VPA graduate students (undergraduate support should be sought through the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Engagement)
Unallowable costs include:
payments to any Syracuse University faculty or staff (salary, stipends, honoraria)
subcontracts to external institutions
purchase contracts that exceed the duration of the grant
tuition
costs incurred prior to the submission of the grant request
reimbursement for payments to third parties for services rendered (e.g. transcription costs, photography, videography, editing), as these costs must be approved for and paid by the University directly.
For academic year 2024-25, the Faculty Enrichment Fund will have two competitions. The application window for Fall 2024 round was September 20 - October 7. The application window for Spring 2025 will be January 17 - February 3.
For questions regarding the Faculty Enrichment Fund, contact the Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Research Seyeon Lee (slee80@syr.edu) or Christina Leigh Docteur (cdocteur@syr.edu) in the Office of Academic Affairs, or by phone at (315-443-0137).