Good afternoon,

Please find below details on the AY23-24 study leave application process for both TERM and TENURED faculty. The purpose of study leave is to provide temporary leave for the support of advancing scholarly research, teaching, and/or creative activity, including development of innovative teaching approaches and methods. Applications for study leave will be handled entirely within the College of Engineering and Computing.  However, we will be following the requirements previously established by the Provost which are described below.

This announcement is NOT for tenure-track faculty. Study leave for tenure-track faculty is handled by a different process, described in section 3.6.1 of Mason's Faculty Handbook (https://provost.gmu.edu/administration/policy). 

Eligibility

• Applicants must be full-time tenured faculty or on a full-time term faculty multi-year contract. All faculty must have six (6) or more years of service at Mason at the time of application and have completed six (6) years of such service since a previous study leave.
• Individuals whose rank is prefixed with Affiliate, Adjunct, Research, or Visiting, are not eligible.
• Six (6) years must elapse between successive study leaves.

• Any time spent on leave of absence, leave without pay, or time worked at another agency or institution may count towards the six (6) years, but only if authorized by the Associate Dean for Research.
• An applicant may apply in year six (6) for a study leave in year seven (7) (with year one (1) being the first year back from the completed study leave).

• Full-time Administrative Faculty who otherwise meet these criteria are also eligible.

Conditions of the Award
A faculty member who receives study leave must agree to remain a full-time employee of the University for at least one academic year after the conclusion of said leave.

Study Leave Period
Leave may be taken for one (1) semester at full pay or two (2) semesters at half pay. The leave schedule must be approved by the department chair/academic division director and/or dean. Faculty are encouraged to take two (2) semesters leave at half pay but are urged to consult with Human Resources regarding possible fringe benefit implications. Leave may be taken during the Fall or Spring semester of the academic year following announcement of the award.

Application Process
The deadline for submitting applications is 9 a.m. on Monday, December 5.  (You may find some outdated information on the Provost’s website or elsewhere that mentions other dates as the deadline. Please ignore such information. December 5 is the correct deadline.)

Application packets should be submitted electronically using the online Study Leave Application. Note: you must be logged in using your Mason credentials to complete the Study Leave Application, emailed applications will not be accepted.

Application materials
Please complete the online Study Leave Application and upload the following materials:

1. Curriculum Vitae: The CV should include accomplishments in research, teaching, and service. (No page limit).
2. Project Proposal: The proposal should include up to four pages (2,000 words) describing the objectives and products of the study leave. The proposal may include several types of activities such as research, book writing, course and courseware development.
3. Study Leave Report (if applicable): Brief report on products and outcomes from previous study leave. (Maximum of 2 pages).
4. Chair or Academic Division Director’s Letter of Support: This letter should explain the importance of the contributions of the applicant. It should also provide sufficient information about the applicant’s publication outlets (or other scholarly activity) so that reviewers outside the discipline can judge the relative importance of the publications or activity. (Maximum of 1 page).
5. Institution Permission (if applicable): If the proposed study leave is to be spent in residence at another institution (university, government, or industry), a letter agreeing to the arrangement from an appropriate official of that institution should also be submitted. For a two semester leave at half pay, if the faculty member will be appointed to a salaried position while in residence at another institution, the amount of salary is limited to one half of the faculty member’s salary and the appointment must be to a non-tenured temporary position such as Visiting Scholar. For a one semester leave at full pay, no additional salary may be accepted. If it is not possible to obtain such a letter by December 5, please indicate this in your application, and submit such a letter when it becomes available. (Maximum of 1 page).

Review Criteria
Applications will be scored based on the quality of the proposal (60% of the score) and a collective record of high-quality past performance (40%).  For research activities, the focus will be on publications, research funding, and mentoring of Ph.D. students, and those Faculty must demonstrate that they are active in seeking external funding for their activities. For teaching-related activities, in particular, there must be evidence of teaching innovation and learning impact beyond the classroom (e.g. publications, and/or external funding). All proposals must discuss the tangible results the project will have, and how those results will be shared with others (e.g., publication, sharing of new pedagogical techniques or materials with peers). Proposals must also clearly describe the uniqueness of the proposed scholarly activity and why a leave is necessary to accomplish the proposed objective.

If you have any problems uploading your materials via the online Study Leave Application, please contact Elizabeth Dean at [log in to unmask]. If you have any questions or need additional information regarding the study leave process, let me know.

Regards,

Art

Dr. Art Pyster

Associate Dean for Research and Professor

College of Engineering and Computing

George Mason University

703-717-8110

[log in to unmask]

--