The College is calling for proposals for the CLAS Excellence and Innovation Fund.  Proposals are due Tuesday, May 1. 

CLAS Excellence and Innovation funds are intended as nonrenewable awards to help academic units that aspire to distinction and visibility in research and graduate training.  The proposals must meet three chief criteria: (1) a timely and creative concept; (2) the promise for increasing the College’s and Department’s reputation and visibility within the University, the nation, and the state; and (3) a viable plan for sustaining the research or training once the Excellence & Innovation funding has ended.  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.

Proposals should be submitted by the DEO to Brenda Gritsch (brenda-gritsch@uiowa.edu).  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.

In departments submitting more than one proposal, the DEO must include a cover letter rank-ordering the proposals according to their importance for the visibility of the department.  Awards range up to $5,000.