Faculty Research Fund Program
The Faculty Research Fund Program assists faculty in establishing or maintaining high quality research programs and other creative achievements. The Vice President for Research provides funds for this program. Eligibility is limited to full-time faculty. This includes tenured, tenure-eligible, and soft-money faculty for whom research is an expected component of their appointment. There are three competitions held annually:
- Regular Faculty Research competition supports work that can be completed in one year and provides research support other than faculty salaries;
- Scholarly Materials and Equipment competition is for the acquisition of equipment or library collections; and
- Summer Faculty Research competition provides $8,000 awards for faculty summer salaries for a minimum of 1.5 months research effort.
The Committee also recommends the recipient of the Presidential Research & Creative Achievement Award; this award is made to a faculty member who has attained distinction in research or creative achievement.
Award Categories
Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award
Since 1974, in recognition of the mission to facilitate the research, scholarship, and creative activity of faculty at the University of Maine that results in national and international recognition, the President has annually presented the Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award to a University of Maine faculty member who has attained such distinction. Tenured UMaine and Cooperative Extension faculty and full-time lecturers (in their sixth year of service or beyond) are eligible for this award. Internationally-recognized research, scholarship, and creative activity distinguish the University of Maine as the State’s flagship university, where faculty contribute knowledge to issues of local, national, and international significance. The recipient receives a medallion and monetary award.
Regular Faculty Research Award
Assists members of the faculty in establishing or maintaining high quality research programs that will extend the limits of existing knowledge and lead to a tangible final product (e.g., performance, showing, publication, grant proposal, etc.).
Summer Faculty Research Award
Provides $8,000 awards for faculty summer salaries for a minimum of 1.5 months research effort. Recipients are selected based on recommendations by the Faculty Research Funds Committee.
Scholarly Materials and Equipment Award
Assists faculty in establishing or maintaining high quality research programs by providing items of equipment and library collections.
How to Apply
Interested UMaine faculty members should submit an application package using our InfoReady Review grant application submission portal.
Program Information
1. Faculty members receiving substantial start-up funds are ineligible to receive awards from the FRF Program for a period of two years after the start-up monies have been spent; however, if the substantial start-up package did not include summer salary, the faculty member may apply for the Summer Faculty Research competition.
2. No preference is given to specific disciplines.
3. If you receive an award through the FRF Program, you must serve a future three-year term on the FRF committee.
- When the Faculty Research Funds Committee weighs funding decisions for comparable proposals, it gives priority to tenure-track members of the UM faculty and to faculty members who propose to redirect their research programs.
- Eligibility is limited to full-time faculty. This includes tenured, tenure-eligible, and soft-money faculty for whom research is an expected component of their appointment. Proposals will not be considered from individuals with delinquent reports from any previous FRF awards.
- The Faculty Research Funds Committee represents a broad range of disciplines from the entire University of Maine faculty. Consequently, proposals should be written for a general audience (except the Methods and Materials section, where discipline-specific details are necessary).