Academic Affairs: UC Davis Hellman Fellowship Program Criteria and Deadline

PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM

The Hellman Family Foundation has contributed funds to establish the UC Davis Hellman Fellows Program to provide support and encouragement for the research of promising faculty at the Assistant Professor rank who exhibit potential for great distinction in their research. It is expected that Fellows will be in at least their second year as an Assistant Professor and that the fellowship will support research and creative activities which will promote career advancement and enhance the individual’s progress toward tenure.

ELIGIBILITY

• Full-time, Assistant Professors, except for those in the Schools of Law, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, are eligible if they are non-tenured at the time the fellowship will be received and will not be under consideration for tenure while holding a Hellman Fellowship.
• If a faculty member has a partial FTE appointment in the Schools of Law, Medicine or Veterinary Medicine plus a partial FTE appointment in a school/college which does qualify for Hellman Fellowships, he/she can apply using the qualifying department.
• Assistant Professors who will be considered for tenure in the 2010-2011 academic year are not eligible to apply for the Hellman Fellowship.
• Assistant Professors who applied for Hellman Fellowships for the 2009-2010 academic year and were not selected, are eligible to reapply for the fellowship this year if they meet the above criteria.

APPLICATION CRITERIA

• Applicants must be in the Assistant Professor rank and at least in their second year at that rank. If an applicant spent one or more years at another research university before coming to UC Davis, that time may be counted, (i.e., applicant has to have completed at least two years as Assistant Professor by the start of the Fellowship on July 1, 2010.)
• Preference in awarding Hellman Fellowships will be given to faculty who show great promise in their research and have outstanding proposals, but who may have only modest means to support their research and have never received other young investigator awards. Many government agencies (i.e., NIH, NSF, etc.) and professional societies give research grants called “Young Investigator Awards,” specifically designated for researchers in the early period of their careers. Since these awards provide recognition and funding for researchers at the Assistant Professor level that duplicate the purpose of the Hellman Fellowship, those faculty who hold such awards are not eligible to apply for a Hellman Fellowship.
• Fellowship funds may be used for research-related expenses, such as laboratory equipment, travel to a professional meeting or a site where data will be collected, and salaries for research assistants, students, or postdoctoral fellows on the research team. Funds may not be used for faculty salaries, including summer salaries.
• The range of awards in 2009-2010 was $11,000 to $25,500. We expect a somewhat similar range this year. There must be a budget justification for the amount requested. The duration of the award is normally one year, but if the awardee does not spend it all in the grant year, he/she may request permission to spend the carryover amount in a second year. In any event, award recipients are required to spend all funds before their tenure case is put forward for consideration.
• Funds may not be used to replace state-funded resources used to recruit and retain faculty.
• Recipients agree to attend a luncheon meeting and share their work with the Hellman Family Fund Trustees.

Awards will be based on:

• Excellence of the proposal
• Research funding need
• The candidate’s research record (publications, funding, awards) indicating a potential for great distinction.