Category 1

Funding of new members of the faculty who need assistance in establishing research, scholarly, or artistic programs. This category is restricted to Assistant Professors* in the first four years of their appointment at the University. Junior faculty holding an appointment for longer than four years may be considered if they present convincing, well-justified reasons for delays in their tenure application process. This category is given the highest priority, but should not be considered a substitute for departmental and college funding owed to such new faculty. New assistant professors are strongly encouraged to obtain feedback from a senior colleague before submitting a proposal to the Grant-in-Aid Program. *Senior faculty are not eligible to apply under this category.

Category 2

Support or partial support for major capital equipment that is not currently available, that will be shared by several faculty members, and that will increase the likelihood of external funding. Note that proposals funded in this category must include 30-50% cost sharing.  See Category 2 special instructions.

Category 3

Support for short research visits between a faculty member and another scholar, or a group of scholars, concerning matters directly related to their mutual research interests. These working visits, not necessarily involving formal colloquium presentations, can take a number of forms from formulating initial questions and approaches to attacking problems in the interpretation of data, to trial launching of conclusions, to responding to criticism of research proposals intended for outside agencies. These visits are usually several days to several weeks in length and are intended to be used for the establishment of new collaborations or sharing new ideas and/or techniques -- not for support of ongoing relationships.

Category 4

Support for acquisition of research materials, including rare books and manuscripts, back files of journals, photocopied and microfilmed materials, maps, photographs, etc., provided the materials are not readily available through standard library procedures and are not considered part of the normal expenses of maintaining personal research libraries by professors. Support is limited to the cost and shipping of materials, not travel to find/obtain materials. Research materials purchased with Grant-in-Aid funds will, when appropriate, eventually be lodged in the University Libraries.

Category 5

Support for faculty members in fields where there is little external funding available. It is expected that possibilities of external funding will be pursued in these fields also, with the advice of department chairs and heads, college research development officers, and the University's Office of Sponsored Projects Administration . These efforts should be documented in the proposal. This category does not include fields where there is significant external funding available, albeit this funding may be difficult to obtain because of the level of competition.

Category 6

Support for faculty members moving into significantly different areas of research or scholarship. Proposals in this category must include a cover letter with specific language explaining how this project is indeed a new direction rather than a natural outcome of current research.  This category does not provide support for faculty applying new techniques to ongoing research, but rather to those faculty proposing a very different set of research questions that will likely lead to new sources of external funding. See Application Instructions.

Category 7

Interim support necessary to maintain ongoing research efforts during a temporary lapse in external funding which is beyond the control of the faculty member. It is expected that faculty members who are supported will vigorously seek renewed funding in timely ways so as to avoid further lapses. See Category 7 instructions.

Category 8

Support of faculty who have served in full-time leadership or administrative roles for a substantial period of time and are about to return to a regular appointment and reestablish their research, scholarly or artistic programs. Proposals in this category must include specific language explaining how administrative duties have significantly interrupted the applicant's research program. This category may be used only once following each stint of administrative duties.

Category 9

Support for faculty from two or more disciplines / fields working on issues in which the different disciplines contribute to new approaches, designs, research strategies or findings. Proposals in this category must include a cover letter with specific language explaining how this project addresses a set of research questions that is significantly different from PI's previous research and that will likely lead to new sources of external funding. See Application instructions.