AUB offers faculty development grants to full-time professorial faculty members to support their development as researchers. Both short- and long-term faculty development grants are administered by the Dean’s Office in each faculty/school. Short-term grants (maximum 7 days) support travel by faculty members presenting research results at international conferences, symposia, or meetings. Long-term grants (2-8 weeks) support faculty travelling to conduct research during the summer months.

1.    Guidelines

General

The following guidelines address general eligibility for faculty development grants:
a)    Part-time and visiting faculty members (with contracts of less than two years) and those in their terminal year of appointment with the University are not eligible for faculty development grants.
b)   Each faculty member is only eligible for one kind (either short- or long-term) of faculty development grant per academic year. In the same year, a faculty member who receives a faculty development grant cannot benefit from a paid research leave and vice versa.

Please note that AUB can only support the travel routing described in the letter of award. Faculty members who request different and/or additional routing must themselves bear the expense of these changes.

Short-Term Faculty Development Grants

These grants are designed to support individual faculty members travelling to international conferences to present papers. During the last several years, the average amount of an AUB faculty development grant has been about $2200. The University will use this figure as a guide: conferences with costs below this amount will be covered without the need for extensive explanation; those above $2200 will require additional justification. The goal is to contain costs by encouraging all traveling faculty members to start the application process early and to seek other ways to economize. Those who make no effort in this regard will not be assured of complete coverage of conference costs. In addition to recognizing a faculty member’s academic performance, deans may also reward those who make an effort to reduce costs by providing at least partial support for a second conference.

 Please note the following important points:
a)    Faculty members who apply to attend a conference without giving a research presentation will not be funded.
b)   Applications for short-term grants should reach the Dean’s Office at least five weeks prior to the date of the proposed travel. For summer travel (June 20 to September 30), applications must be received by May 15. No applications will be accepted after the deadline. Those who have early acceptance to present at a conference are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as early registration and bookings may reduce costs significantly.
c)    Recipients of short-term faculty development grants will normally receive support for registration fees (up to $550); meals and lodging* (for the actual days of the conference); transportation (airport-hotel, within city); and an airplane ticket.** One extra day of support for travel purposes may be granted for conferences outside of Europe and the MENA region.

* Faculty members are encouraged to economize on these expenses. If necessary, AUB may pay up to the per diem rates for lodging and food. Food expenses may not exceed $75/day. AUB maintains a list of per diem rates for US and non-US cities:
http://www.aub.edu.lb/pnp/generaluniversitypolicies/Documents/TravelPolicy/Travel.pdf
**Early bookings are one of the best ways to reduce expenses. Although applicants must ask Auxiliary Services for a quote, they can book their own flights if they can find better deals. AUB can grant cash advances for such expenditures.

d)   Please note that the settlement of travel advances will be based on actual expenses rather than per diems. All receipts, including registration fees and hotel bills, must be submitted for the Comptroller’s consideration.

Long-Term Faculty Development Grants

Long-term faculty development grants cover round-trip air travel and a stipend of $2000 per 30 calendar days, pro rated. The duration of support ranges from two to eight weeks.

Please note the following important points:

a)    Applications for long-term grants should reach the Dean’s Office by April 30.

b)   Faculty members must wait 22 months after receiving a long-term grant before applying for another long-term award.

c)    Faculty members are encouraged to book flights early. As with short-term grants, applicants must ask Auxiliary Services for a quote; however, they are encouraged to book their own flights if they can find one for a lower price. AUB can grant cash advances for such expenditures.

d)   All receipts for hotels, sublet apartments, ground transportation, car rentals, photocopying, and/or other approved expenses must be submitted, along with an expense report, to the Dean’s Office for the Comptroller’s consideration.

2.    Applications:

General

Applications for all faculty development grants should include the following elements:
a)    CV (or link to an electronic CV).
b)   A Faculty Development Grant Application Form which includes the Departmental chair’s evaluation.
c)    An explanation or evidence of research output from previous faculty development awards, where applicable.
d)   A clear statement of whether additional funds from University or external sources have been received or sought.
e)    Request and Authorization for Official University Travel Form approved by the departmental chair (http://www.aub.edu.lb/hr/forms/Documents/misc/Travel_Request.pdf).
f)    Leave Request and Approval Form approved by the departmental chair (http://www.aub.edu.lb/hr/forms/Documents/misc/Leave_Request_Form.pdf).

Short-Term Faculty Development Grants

Applications for short-term faculty development grants should also include:
a)    A brief statement explaining why this travel is important for the faculty member’s professional development and the significance of the research he/she intends to present.
b)   A letter or statement of acceptance for the research to be presented from the conference or symposium organizers.
c)    An itemized list of estimated expenses including ticket, transport from airport, lodging, meals, registration fee (and late fee if applicable). Specify the AUB per diem rate for the destination city. Please also indicate any efforts made to reduce costs.
d)   An explanation if the total cost of the travel is expected to exceed $2200.

Long-Term Faculty Development Grants

Applications for long-term faculty development grants should also include:
a)    An abstract (200 words or less) and a detailed description of the proposed research travel, explaining why it is important for the faculty member’s professional development and the significance of the research that he/she intends to pursue.
b)   If the grant involves cooperation with host institutions, a copy of each letter of invitation.