Competitive Awards

The UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program

Bonnie Cone Fellowships Solicitation


The UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program

In the Fall of 2006, UNC Charlotte received an award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE program to fund a five-year project entitled “UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program: Institutional Transformation for the Future of the Faculty.” The overall goal of the project is to support innovative and comprehensive programs that bring about institution-wide change at UNC Charlotte and promote the increased participation and advancement of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) faculty positions and in leadership positions.

The specific goals and outcomes for the five-year UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program are as follows:

  • Goal 1 is Recruitment, with the desired outcome of increased numbers of STEM women, including women of color, interviewed and hired at all ranks at UNC Charlotte.
  • Goal 2 is Retention, with the desired outcomes of a) increased numbers of STEM women, including women of color, at all ranks at UNC Charlotte; and b) gender equity in views on climate and gender equity in salary, workload, resources and recognition, at UNC Charlotte.
  • Goal 3 is Advancement, with the desired outcome of increased numbers of women, including women of color, from associate to full professor and leadership positions at UNC Charlotte.

Bonnie Cone Fellowships Synopsis

The purpose of the Bonnie Cone Fellowships is to fulfill the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE program goals and outcomes for recruitment, retention and advancement, at UNC Charlotte, by supporting activities that enhance the careers of individual women. Possible Cone Fellowship initiatives include, but are not limited to:

For all Bonnie Cone Awardees:

  • Partial support for a semester-long reassignment of duties to explore careers in academic administration.
  • Partial support to visit other laboratories or institutions for research or mentoring opportunities.
  • Support for summer salary while the Fellow pursues opportunities that would advance her career as a faculty member or academic leader.
  • Support to assist in the transition of faculty from non-tenure earning to tenure earning positions or to change research directions to improve prospects for advancement
  • Support for childcare while attending a conference.
  • Professional workshops for research, teaching, or leadership development.
  • Course buyouts to provide additional time for research for women with high service obligations.

For Bonnie Cone Mid-Career Awardees:

  • Any support that assists in the transition from associate to full professorship, as specified in the Individual Development Plan below.

Eligibility, Cost-sharing, and Deadline

Bonnie Cone Fellowship awards may be granted to women in STEM disciplines. This includes any discipline supported by the National Science Foundation.

Applicants are required to provide a Letter of Support from a STEM department or college. (Details are provided below.) Cost-sharing by the supporting department or college is strongly encouraged.

Full proposals are due October 17, 2008.


Budget

Funds may be requested for expenses directly related to the project, such as travel, equipment, student support, communications, workshop attendance, mentoring, summer salary, and partial reassignment of duties support.

There is $100,000 available to fund Cone Fellows in 2008-09. A portion of these funds will be allocated to the advancement of mid-career faculty. Funds will be available for one year.

Format of the Full Proposal

Each proposal must be typed and include the following components, in order:

  • A Cover Page that lists the Project Title, the Principal Investigator (PI) name, rank, and discipline, and the name of the STEM unit supporting the PI.
  • An Abstract of the project, not to exceed 250 words. The abstract should be a concise summary of the project that includes the project goals and outcomes; the methods to be employed; and the expected impact of the project on the applicant’s career.
  • A completed Budget Request Form that has been signed by the unit head for the department or college supporting the applicant’s proposal. A Budget Justification is to be included in the Project Narrative (explained below).
  • A 2-page biographical sketch.
  • A Project Narrative that provides a brief introduction to the project and includes the sections listed below. Guidelines for each section are found in the Selection Criteria section below. The narrative must not exceed 2500 words and must consist of numbered pages.
    • Individual development plan
    • Meeting the purposes of the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program
    • Extent of the need for the fellowship
    • Project plan
    • Budget justification
  • Letter of Support from a STEM unit head at UNC Charlotte. The unit head may be the chair or dean within the applicant’s department or college. Or, the unit head may be the administrator of a unit that the applicant is preparing to move into, with support from the Cone Fellowship. The letter of support must convey support for the applicant’s Individual Development Plan and must specify how the goals and outcomes of the proposed activities are aligned with the unit’s strategic plan. For example, a proposal to support a post-doctoral researcher to enhance the scope of her research, could be supported by a department chair with a Support Letter indicating that the research enhancement will enable the woman to become a viable candidate for a tenure-track position in the department by extending the woman’s research expertise to an area which the department plans to grow, as per their strategic plan.

Proposal Submissions

Proposals should be submitted electronically to the ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Office at advanceuncc@uncc.edu, by October 17, 2008.

The electronic submission must be complete to be considered for review.

Additionally, please send one hard copy of the submitted proposal to the ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Office, Denny 117, via campus mail. As long as the electronic copy is obtained by the published due date, the hard copy can arrive within 10 days after the original submission.

Selection Process

The Competitive Grants Committee will use the following criteria to review and rank proposals:

1. Individual development plan (20 points)

The Committee will review each proposal to assess the extent to which the applicant has articulated an individual development plan, for advancement of her career, with goals and outcomes that are realistic and measurable. It is strongly recommended that the applicant meet with her department chair of college dean to develop the plan and to ensure that their letter of support reflects his/her participation in and agreement with the IDP.

2. Meeting the purposes of the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program (20 points)

The Committee will review each proposal to determine how well the Bonnie Cone Fellowship will meet the purposes of the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE program, by considering the extent to which -

  • The goals and outcomes of the activities to be supported by the Cone Fellowship are realistic and measurable.
  • The outcomes of the proposed activities are likely to support the applicant's individual development plan.
  • Support for the applicant's development plan, and proposed activities, is evidenced through a letter of support from a STEM unit head at UNC Charlotte.
  • The outcomes of the proposed activities are likely to contribute to the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE program goals of recruitment, retention and advancement of women STEM faculty and women leaders at UNC Charlotte.

3. Extent of the need for the fellowship (10 points)

The Committee will consider the extent to which a grant under the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program is needed by considering:

  • How the applicant identified the problems that form the specific needs of the project including
    • An overview of planning, pilot work, or prior observations that support the project, and
    • A brief review of relevant literature to demonstrate understanding of the issues involved and "best practices" motivated by the research on recruitment, retention and advancement of women STEM faculty and leaders; and
  • How receiving an ADVANCE grant will meet the specific and general outcomes of the project.

4. Project plan (40 points)

The Committee will review the proposed activities and plan and consider the extent to
which : The project is well planned; the methods to be employed are presented in sufficient detail to illustrate the steps required to complete the project; a timeline, with an annotated list of dates and activities, is provided; and The planned activities are likely to contribute to the project outcomes and to resolve the specific problems that form the need for the project.

5. Budget justification (10 points)

The Committee will review the budget and budget justification to assess the degree to which the budget supports the project goals.

Notification of Award

Notification of award will be made by December 1, 2008. Funding for project expenses will be available immediately following notification. A final report on activities is due within 60 days of the completion of the project. Applicants also agree to provide the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Program with data as needed to a) assess the progress of the project and b) assist in reporting to the NSF throughout the entire five-year ADVANCE award period.

Questions

Questions about the grants program, eligibility to apply, or the proposal process should be directed to the ADVANCE Faculty Director, Dr. Yvette Huet, at 704-687-8696, ymhuet@uncc.edu.