The CLAS Excellence and Innovation Funds are intended to help academic units that aspire to distinction and visibility in research and graduate training. The proposals must meet two chief criteria: (1) a timely and creative concept and (2) promise for increasing the College's and Department’s reputation and visibility within the University, the nation, and the state. The proposals should be based on faculty discussions of how the department can move to the next level of quality and distinction, and should also contribute to the College’s goals as described in the Strategic Plan.

Funding may be requested for such initiatives as disciplinary or interdisciplinary conferences to be held on our campus, innovative interarts performances, special opportunities for graduate student recruitment or development, or other activities or initiatives that the department has discussed as a means of fostering excellence.

Awards are typically in the range of $5,000 to $10,000. Awards may be for a single year or for multiple years. View a list of awards made since the program began.

Proposals

Proposals are considered by the College in two cycles: those submitted by December 1 and those submitted by April 15 of each year.  Proposals include the following elements:

• The cover sheet, with budget information and required DEO signature.
• The proposal itself (not to exceed two additional pages). The proposal should demonstrate how the initiative meets the criteria mentioned above. If the proposal is for seed money for a project that will be on-going after the period of the award, the proposal must explain how the funds for continuing the project will be secured.

If more than one proposal is submitted from any department in a single cycle, the DEO must send the Dean a confidential letter rank-ordering the proposals according to their importance for the visibility of the department.

Source of the Funding

The Excellence and Innovation Funds were established as gifts to the College through the UI Foundation, with the goal of fostering and supporting the visibility and leadership of CLAS faculty in research, scholarship, and creative work.

The Excellence and Innovation Funds are to be used

• to enhance the intellectual and artistic environment in our departments and other arenas of faculty interaction,
• to help faculty and departments achieve their aspirations for excellence, and
• to lead to improvements in the external visibility and reputation of our departments and faculty.