CVPA Faculty Development Awards 2025-2026

Purpose of the Awards

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at James Madison University offers financial assistance to stimulate and assist teaching effectiveness, advance creative scholarly and research agendas, or assist in developing service activities, while also reflecting the goals of the academic unit, college, and university. Proposals in any field of creative or scholarly activity related to the faculty members’ discipline may be submitted. Awards are to be used to sustain activities necessary to complete the proposed projects or endeavors, including travel expenses and other related costs (see budget section for restrictions). Each award will not exceed $5,000.

Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted individually or on behalf of a team. The Principal Proposer/Investigator/Creator/Initiator must be a full-time CVPA faculty member (including academic unit heads). Faculty members may be part of multiple Faculty Professional Development Award proposals; however, they will only be eligible to receive one award as a Principal Proposer in each academic year. Faculty members are able to apply for and earn these awards annually; junior faculty members are particularly encouraged to apply.

Proposal Components

Please submit your proposal in this format:

• Proposal Title
• Principal Proposer Name, Academic Unit, and eID
• Name(s) and Affiliation(s) of Collaborators
• Proposal Summary (not more than 500 words)
• Project Narrative (not more than 1,000 words, excluding references)
• Expected Outcomes (not more than one page)
• Timeline (not more than one page) o Indicate start and completion dates
  • Expenditures timeline: October 31 Submissions: projects submitted for funding by October 31 will be funded out of the current fiscal year budget. All expenditures must be completed with receipts submitted by June 10.
  • February 28 Submissions: projects submitted for funding by February 28 will be funded out of the next fiscal year budget. No expenditures may be made before June 20, and all expenditures must be completed by October 31.
• Project Budget. Please review the Funding FAQ sheet prior to finalizing your budget.
• Team Member CVs (not more than two pages each)

Note: Because members of the review committee may not have a specialized knowledge of the proposer's field, the proposal summary and narrative must be sufficiently detailed to describe the project in nontechnical language.

Proposal Submission and Review

Proposals will be reviewed two times a year by the CVPA Professional Development Committee. Proposals should be submitted by 5:00 pm on October 31, 2025, for the fall, or February 28, 2026, for the spring to the CVPA Interim Associate Dean.

Submissions will be sent to the Principal Proposer’s academic unit head to verify that the budget items align with JMU policies. If a proposal does not meet budget policy specifications, the faculty member will have one week to make alterations or adjustments to ensure compliance with JMU policy. Following this review, the Interim Associate Dean will submit approved proposals to the CVPA Professional Development Award Committee for review. The CVPA Professional Development Committee will review proposals and make recommendations to the Dean.

Notification and Feedback

The Dean will notify applicants of the status of their proposals by the end of the semester in which their proposal was submitted. Proposals that do not receive funding are eligible to revise their proposal based on committee feedback and resubmit in the next review period. Proposals that receive full or partial funding will be notified of any award conditions or restrictions, and should meet with their school’s administrative assistant to enact their project budget.

Reporting

A complete program and financial report for the project must be provided to the Interim Associate Dean within 60 days after the completion of the award period. Recipients also agree to share information about their award-funded activities at the Sparks Research Symposium on the afternoon of Friday, February 20, 2026.

Report Components:

• Title Page with Project Name and Contributing Members
• Summary of Project
• A 3 to 5-page review of your project, written for a general audience and suitable for incorporation into presentations or displays.
• Photographs suitable for incorporation into presentations or displays; videos are also encouraged.
• Assessment of Project and any Proposed Future Projects
• Financial Report with Receipts