Bylaws:
A Committee on Faculty Research Awards, consisting of eleven members of the Faculty of professorial rank, appointed for staggered five-year terms. The membership shall include at least one member from each of the following areas: Arts, Engineering, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social Sciences. The following shall be members ex officio without vote: the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of the School of Engineering, the Director of Research Administration, and the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. The Committee may appoint such additional members, without vote, as it deems appropriate. The Committee shall elect its Chairman at the first meeting of each academic year and the Deans responsible for research shall serve as Secretary of the Committee.
The Committee shall distribute funds made available to it for support of research conducted by members of the Faculty of Arts, Sciences and Engineering. Determinations concerning the distribution of funds shall be made by majority vote; in the event of a tie, the Secretary shall vote to break the tie. The Committee shall be responsible for reviewing applications submitted to it, and, where appropriate, shall solicit evaluations from experts in the applicant's field. These evaluations may be sought from persons within and outside the University. In making awards, the Committee shall attempt to promote faculty development by funding selected small projects and providing seed money for larger ones. The Committee shall represent the faculty in seeking new internal and external sources of funding for the awards which it administers.
Committee Description & Work Load:
The Faculty Research Awards Committee (FRAC) is responsible for supporting
faculty research through a variety of award programs, ranging from modest Grants-in-Aid
(up to $1500) to full semester research sabbaticals. FRAC is also responsible for selecting
winners of the annual Distinguished Scholar Award. The committee consists of faculty
representing the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and engineering and the
term of service is five years. The committee meets six or seven times a year, generally
on Friday afternoons, for 2 hours to review applications and discuss policy. The workload
(application review) leading up to deadlines is intense, but the work is highly rewarding
because one is learning about and supporting the research of colleagues. |