Faculty Funding Call for Proposals

*C3 is no longer accepting applications for this program.*

Creating Connections Consortium (C3): A partnership to strengthen diversity and innovation through enhanced interactions between liberal arts colleges and research universities

C3 Partners: Bates College, Connecticut College, Middlebury College, Williams College; Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Michigan

Other LADO Schools (eligible for C3 Affiliate status): Amherst College, Berea College, Bowdoin College, Bucknell University, College of the Holy Cross, Davidson College, Denison University, Dickinson College, Furman University, Gettysburg College, Hampshire College, Kenyon College, Lafayette College, Lawrence University, Lewis and Clark College, Muhlenberg College, Oberlin College, Providence College, Reed College, Sarah Lawrence College, Skidmore College, Smith College, St. Olaf College, Trinity College, Union College, Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, Whitman College

Summary: C3 seeks to address the challenges of diversity in higher education by building capacity, investing in talented graduate students and faculty from underrepresented groups, and creating and nurturing connections between partners interested in institutional change. One of the goals of C3 is to disrupt a negatively-reinforcing cycle whereby colleges fail to recruit and retain faculty members from underrepresented groups. This cycle limits an institution’s ability to provide students from underrepresented groups with role models and mentors, which results in fewer minority students aspiring to careers in academia and public service. Breaking the cycle can help an institution support pathways to the academy for groups historically underrepresented and underserved, as well as diversify the curricular and co-curricular offerings at the institution. In addition to providing more robust mentorship for students from underrepresented groups at predominantly white institutions, breaking the cycle results in more inclusive classrooms and campus spaces for all students.

Program Description: The Faculty Funding program is a new mechanism to support the hiring of faculty members from groups underrepresented in higher education. If, through a national search or a C3 New Scholars Series, departments and programs at affiliate LADO institutions identify candidates from underrepresented groups, schools can apply for funding to support the first two years of a tenure track position plus start-up funds for research and travel. Any faculty members hired using these funds will be full faculty members, subject to the same terms and conditions of appointment as other incoming faculty.

Funding will be extended to institutions that seek new perspectives on their curricular offerings and pedagogy and that see value in engaging PhD (or MFA) candidates from underrepresented groups in this pursuit. Preference will be given to new hires in departments or programs that previously held New Scholar Series.

This tenure-track funding is restricted to fields supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, specifically the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Also, funded scholars must not have previously held a tenure-track appointment. 

In the spirit of full participation, full-time, non-tenure-track faculty appointments will be eligible for support on a limited basis, provided the host institution demonstrates a strong commitment to the ethos of C3.

Funding: $100,000 per year (total compensation, including benefits) for two years plus a $10,000 allowance (over two years) for research and travel expenses.

Eligibility (two scenarios)

  1. For departments or programs who have already received C3 New Scholar Series funding and would like to hire a junior scholar identified in the course of the Series, C3 encourages the school to submit an application to fund the first two years of this faculty position.
  2. For departments or programs who have already hired someone as a result of a national search and have not hosted a New Scholars Series, C3 will consider applications from CAOs seeking funding for this new hire.

Be sure to consult the Application Guidelines and Criteria for Evaluation prior to submission.

> Faculty Funding description
> Call for Proposals
> Application Guidelines
> Criteria for Evaluation