Arts and Humanities Junior Faculty Endowment Fund: 2007-2008

Purpose of the Endowment

The Arts and Humanities Junior Faculty Endowment Fund makes available acquisitions funds to selected junior faculty members (tenure-track Group I faculty with probationary appointments and no more than five years of full-time service to the university) doing research in the arts and the humanities. The arts and humanities focus arises from requirements of the National Endowment for the Humanities which substantially funded the endowment. These funds, awarded through a competitive process described below, enable junior faculty members to acquire for the Libraries' collections specialized materials and information resources needed to support their research.

The Endowment is intended to help attract and retain new high-quality faculty and to support their specialized research needs. It is not a substitute for existing departmental library allocations to purchase books, journals, and other materials normally acquired to support the curriculum. Rather, the Endowment supports the acquisition of materials that are too specialized or costly for departments to purchase on their own but that are critical for research conducted by their newer faculty.

Selection Procedure

Junior faculty members, with the approval, assistance, and input of their department chairs, submit funding proposals to the Libraries' Assistant Dean for Collection Development, who chairs the Libraries' Library Special Endowment Funds Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee reviews funding proposals made to the Arts and Humanities Junior Faculty Endowment and also to the 1804 Special Library Endowment Fund.

The Advisory Committee consists of nine appointed faculty members representing the breadth of university academics and two ex-officio members: the Assistant Dean for Collection Development (who also serves as Chair) and the President of the Friends of the Library. The nine faculty members are appointed to three-year staggered, calendar-year terms by the Dean of Libraries, after seeking nominations from all deans, department chairs, and school and center directors. Under normal circumstances, there will be three vacancies opening on the Advisory Committee each year.

The Advisory Committee will oversee one or more cycles each year to review and recommend action on proposals for purchases. In cases involving special purchase opportunities, the Chair may call a special meeting if satisfied that the proposed purchase has merit and that prompt action is required. If the Advisory Committee determines that it needs additional information about a proposal, it may request oral or written clarification and/or invite the proposer to appear before it.

Advisory Committee recommendations are forwarded to the Dean of Libraries for his approval and action. Faculty members who have received awards may apply again; however, preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received awards. Applicants will be notified of the disposition of their proposals shortly after the Dean has taken action.

Guidelines for Proposals

The terms "arts" and "humanities" include but are not limited to, the study of the following disciplines: history; philosophy; languages; linguistics; literature; archaeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion, and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches. Also included is research in the physical or biological sciences that is historical or philosophical or that traditionally attempts to cast light on questions of interpretation or criticism in the humanities. Not included is research dealing with the practice or the performance of the arts.

Proposals for funding are submitted to the Chair of the Advisory Committee. Proposals must be submitted in writing and must include the following elements:

1. A description of the materials to be purchased.
2. Anticipated cost.
3. A General statement describing their format(s) and the vendor(s)/supplier(s).
4. A Discussion of:
   1. the faculty member's research interests that the materials are meant to support, placing the research in the context of school/department/college research activities as a whole;
   2. the significance of The materials to the faculty member's specific research interest;
   3. the way in which these materials will fulfill the goals of the Endowment;
   4. the way in which these materials conform to and meet the collection development priorities of the department, and
   5. availability of the materials through OhioLINK or from the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and, if so-especially for the latter-an explanation of why Ohio University should purchase its own copy.
5. A statement of support of the proposal from the department chair discussing the proposal's relations to current departmental research directions, with some indication as to how the proposed materials will support future research plans.
6. A statement of support from the appropriate subject bibliographer discussing the proposal in light of the department's/school's collection development priorities.
7. When appropriate, a statement indicating the possibility of application being made for renewal of the award.

Timetable

For additional information on the Endowment Fund or submission of proposals, contact:

Jan Maxwell
Assistant Dean for Collection Development
Alden Library 421
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701-2979
(740) 593-2707
E-mail: maxwelj2@ohio.edu