2024-2025 Sabbatical Leave of Absence

The application and other letters of recommendation must be received by September 21, 2023.
Chair Endorsement Forms are due by September 28, 2023.

Please read this set of guidelines and advice: Sabbatical tips: Advice for Faculty Preparing for Sabbatical Leaves.

Before you begin this application, you must discuss your project plans and outcomes with your department chair. Once you have submitted your application, your chair (or if you are the chair, your academic dean) will receive an automatic email with a link to view your application, your funding history, and a link to the Chair Endorsement Form. Chair Endorsement Forms are due by September 28, 2023.

Applications are considered incomplete until all reports from previous internal funding have been submitted. (If you have questions, please contact the Office of the Dean for Faculty Development and Research Initiatives.)

WARNING: This online application DOES NOT allow you to save a partially completed or completed version of this form to your desktop. You will receive a copy of your application for your records via email upon submission. If you need to correct errors or update your application before the deadline, you may resubmit the application and your earlier version will be deleted.

By completing this online form, you can generate all documents required for a sabbatical application.
This online application substitutes for Section 5.2 of the Faculty Handbook.

Name (type first letters of your last name, or scroll down list)    

Period of Leave Requested for Sabbatical (choose one)
Attach complete Curriculum Vitae (.pdf formatted preferred) 

Provide references. Up to four letters of reference are allowed: in addition to your department Chair Endorsement Form, one is required from a non-Calvin colleague. Without these, your application will not be considered complete.

Important: Each letter of reference should be sent as an email attachment, addressed to Dr. David Wunder, Dean for Faculty Development and Research Initiatives, and emailed to scholars@calvin.edu. The chairperson's endorsement must be submitted each year for each proposal. However, external letters of reference may be used for up to three years, as long as they are closely related to the proposed project. Please contact the Office of the Dean for Faculty Development and Research Initiatives if you would like to attach any letters that are already on file. It is the applicant's responsibility to see that all letters of reference have been submitted by the Sabbatical application deadline.

Choose your chairperson's (or if you are the chair, your academic dean's) name (*required)

Chairperson (or academic dean) complete email address (*required)

Ref. 2 Name (required)          
Ref. 3 Name                           
Ref. 4 Name                           

Provide a brief title for your proposed project.

Provide a brief abstract of your proposal (250-word maximum).

Project Description. Attach a .pdf document, 4 single-spaced pages maximum. Describe the project goals, the disciplinary context, the open questions, your major theses, your proposed methodology, your professional preparation for the work, and any logistical plans you have made (e.g. for studying off campus, collaborative work, supplemental funding, book contracts, etc.). Also explain why you believe the university should invest in your particular project at this particular time.

Upload Project Description: (.pdf formatted preferred)

Bibliography. It is expected that most proposals will involve substantial discussion of issues raised by others in the field and will require extensive references to bibliographic sources. Please submit your bibliography as a separate .pdf document (2 pages maximum). The bibliography may be annotated, but it should NOT be considered a body of footnotes to the Project Description.

Upload Bibliography: (.pdf formatted preferred)

Please provide the information requested below. Each text box has a 250-word limit.

Describe the expected project outcomes and the benefits to the applicant, the profession, and the university. Include your plans for presenting your work to Calvin colleagues (a requirement described in the Faculty Handbook.)

Pedagogical impact statement. Describe any contributions that the project will make toward course/curriculum development and implementation (be sure to include any FEN- or sustainability-related elements).

Provide a work schedule and itinerary projected for the duration of the leave.

Provide budget and budget explanation, and describe any other sources of funding.

Explain any efforts to obtain outside funding, if such is available in your field.

Remember, any research that involves human subjects must have IRB approval. Will you be seeking IRB approval for this project? (Select Yes if you have already received approval) yes     no

By checking this box, I agree not to accept any other remunerative employment without the explicit, written consent from the dean for faculty development.
E-signature. By checking this box, I certify that the information given in this application is true and complete without evasion or misrepresentation. I understand that willful omission, falsification, or incomplete statements within this application may jeopardize my potential for funding. I also understand that the Faculty Development Committee may examine my previous reports on funding from the university.