A Boost For New Faculty At Non-Ph.D. - Granting Schools

When Helen Leung was hired as an assistant chemistry professor at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., last year, she was given an unexpected bonus worth $10,000. Before she even taught a class, the 33-year-old academic was nominated by her department head for a research-support grant from the New York-based Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, which had recently begun a new program for faculty at non-Ph.D.-granting institutions. "It was all the department chair's idea," recalls Leung, who was more than happy to follow up on the suggestion that she apply for the grant. "I hadn't even heard of it until it was mentioned to me--and I got one. Now, I don't have to worry about my budget." Indeed, thanks to the Dreyfus Foundation, Leung and nine other first-year chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering professors at non-Ph.D.-granting institutions have been able to plan their research without agonizing over where the first dollar will come from. The program, called Camille and Henry Dreyfus Faculty Start-Up Grants for Undergraduate Institutions, distributed $100,000 in unrestricted grants in 1993, its inaugural year. The foundation was established in 1946 by its two namesakes, brothers educated in Basel, Switzerland, who were noted for their development of cellulose acetate and for founding the Celanese companies in Britain, Canada, and the United States. The start-up grants, in an effort to encourage student participation in independent scholarly research, enable new science faculty to begin what the foundation calls the "teaching-research interplay" as early as possible in their academic careers. "Since 1979, we've had a program for [Ph.D.-granting] colleges and universities, where unrestricted money was given to get research under way," says Robert Lichter, executive director of the foundation. "Yet research at the undergraduate level is a significant part of the undergraduate experience, and we felt that it'd be appropriate to have a program available [for non-Ph.D.- granting schools]," Lichter says. "The reality is that most research money has always gone to doctorate-granting institutions." Moreover, he adds, most external grant money for young faculty usually doesn't become available before the end of a professor's first year. This robs new academics of a chance to involve their students in research projects sooner, he says. "Undergraduate participation in a real research project is a compelling part of [students'] education. In reality, when one does chemistry research, it's a collaborative effort," says Lichter. The foundation aims to facilitate the faculty member's part of the collaboration, he says: "This way, there's a check waiting for them when they walk in the door." Of course, obtaining such a check isn't so easy. The program had only gotten under way last year when 86 nominations were received. One of the foundation's judges, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that a number of factors are reviewed before a nominee is awarded a grant. Among the criteria are a record of past accomplishments, extraordinary achievements, research that is ground- breaking, involvement in professional activities, a record of publications in high-quality journals, and letters of recommendation. "They have to really talk about their intent to get a research program under way," says the judge, a chemistry professor at a Southwestern university. "We look at the nature of their research problem and what they will do. And we put a high priority on charting new areas of knowledge or a major advance. It's designed to get people onto a fast track." The reviewer also points out that the program provides an opportunity for academics who don't work at the biggest, best-equipped schools to obtain support. Research that "is fundable or worthy of funding," he notes, is being conducted in more places than just "a select number of institutions." Margret Geselbracht would agree. "I'm at a small college, and it's made a huge difference," says the assistant chemistry professor at Reed College in Portland, Ore. "It's moral support. It justifies to my colleagues that research is important. And from a financial point of view, I can do a lot, given the environment I'm in." Armed with her award, Geselbracht is studying inert atmosphere chemistry, a project that she's working into lab courses, as well. "I want my students to be major players in research," she says. "This encourages me to go on and find further support from other foundations." Starting this year, the Start-Up Grants program expects to increase the amount of grant money to $12,500, according to Lichter. For more information, contact the Dreyfus Foundation at 555 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022; (212) 753-1760. Fax: (212) 593-2256. Edward R. Silverman is a freelance writer based in Millburn, N.J.

A Boost For New Faculty At Non-Ph.D. - Granting Schools

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of