News

Newly appointed leaders of the Faculty Development Committee are ushering in new online guides and social networking sites for faculty and academic professionals seeking PSU funds. Committee chair Christof Teuscher and administrator Anne Sinkey head the committee, which reviews proposals and makes recommendations to the provost on financial awards for Professional Travel Grants, Faculty Enhancement Awards, and Research and Scholarship and Institutional Career Support-Peer Review Programs.

The committee has introduced a new online review and ranking system, says Teuscher, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "We will be rolling out an online submission system for both the travel and the faculty enhancement programs this month. The deadline for the next round of travel grants is Dec. 2, and Faculty enhancement grants are due Jan 13. The committee has three ways for faculty to stay informed: a Facebook page, Twitter feed, and listserv.

"It's our primary goal to better serve the faculty and academic professionals, to reduce the proposal turnaround times, and to allocate the available money in a transparent way based on well-defined merit review criteria," said Teuscher.

The number of submitted proposals to the travel and enhancement programs has roughly doubled in the past five years. In 2010, the committee reviewed more than 300 proposals and distributed over $600,000 to the faculty and academic professionals for career development and enhancement. Mathematics professor Steve Bleiler served as committee chair, and Janet Albarado was the administrator. "They did a great job in running the program with the increasing volume of proposals, and I would like to thank them for their service," said Teuscher, who has served on the committee since 2009.

The new appointment of Sinkey as administrator, marks the first time the committee has had a dedicated administrator through Research and Strategic Partnerships. Sinkey has a Ph.D. in political rhetoric from Emory University and has held teaching and administrative positions at Emory College, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State universities.

For more information, visit the Research and Strategic Partnerships website or contact Sinkey at asinkey@pdx.edu and Teuscher at teuscher@pdx.edu.