Planning for Your Sabbatical Leave

[The following notes are an excerpt from the proceedings of a
Sabbatical Planning Luncheon hosted by the
Dean for Research & Scholarship on October 18, 2000.]

Presented by: John Tiemstra, Chair
of the Faculty Development Committee (1998-2001)

A. The Application Process

Applications submitted to Dean for Research & Scholarship.
Applications are photocopied and distributed to the Faculty Development Committee (FDC).
FDC members each receive copies of all applications including both Sabbatical and CRF applications.
FDC divides into 2 subcommittees: one focusing specifically on Sabbatical applications and the other focused specifically on CRF applications. (At this stage, any committee members who have themselves applied for either a CRF or a sabbatical are placed on the alternative subcommittee. For example, if the Dean for Research & Scholarship has applied for a sabbatical in a given year, she would serve on the subcommittee which reviews CRFs.)
Each subcommittee reads their respective applications and makes preliminary evaluations/recommendations, then the whole committee assembles to iron out any recommendations and achieve a level of consensus.
The FDC makes its recommendation of which applications (both CRFs and Sabbaticals) should be funded to the Professional Status Committee (PSC). PSC has the final word as to which projects are approved, based on the evaluations/recommendations of the FDC.
Along the way from being recommended for funding and being approved by PSC, some applications undergo some degree of negotiation or revision. For example, if a proposal isn't quite complete in the eyes of the FDC/PSC, or if there is a component of the project which may draw some exception, one of the Deans may meet with the applicant to discuss potential changes/improvements. However, this process does not happen very often.

B. The Committee's Presumptions

With Sabbaticals, the FDC's presumption is that all worthwhile sabbaticals should be funded:

“We are looking for reasons to approve sabbatical applications, and we turn down very few.”
Sabbaticals and CRF's are funded from the same (budgetary) pool.
Which means that if more people are applying for sabbatical applications, and few are being denied, then sabbaticals eat a larger share of the funding pool which results in fewer CRFs being granted in a given year.
Competition for Calvin Research Fellowships is directly proportional to the number of sabbatical applications approved.

FDC wants to see that the applicant understands the body of knowledge which is extant, that is why a bibliography is required:

You should know the important issues/sources/questions in your particular field
You should know the important questions/etc. for your specific project
You know what research techniques you're going to use, and show you're experienced in them.

FDC wants to see that your research project is developed/planned to the point that you will truly benefit from the sabbatical leave:

The committee wants to see that you know what you're going to do, with the major limitation being the need for time to do the research.

C. Specific Advice on Completing an Application

Explain the significance of your project in clear prose:

The committee will have difficulty evaluating your application if they cannot understand what you propose to do.
The inability to clearly describe your project may indicate to the committee that you may not have as firm a grasp of your material as you should.
To be safe, explain yourself in words that undergraduate students would understand.

If it's a project related to curriculum, FDC would like to see evidence that you've thought about the effects of your project beyond Calvin College:

Occasionally, applications are received which focus on developing materials specifically for a course taught at Calvin.
While the committee is receptive to such proposals, it is also mindful that if a course is taught at Calvin, it is likely also taught elsewhere.
To this end, the committee prefers to see how you differentiate your project from other schools or from other contemporary research.
In other words, “How are your (projected) materials going to be different from what is already on the market? How are your materials going to be of service beyond Calvin's campus and to the profession at large?”

Do your best to get off campus during your sabbatical:

Granted, it is not always practical to transplant your family and your research for six months to a year.
However, do attempt to incorporate some “field” study (or something constructive) into at least a portion of your proposed leave.

The College encourages people who take sabbaticals to spend some of their time teaching overseas, especially in Christian institutions in what are considered to be “emerging market” countries:

We've had people go to Russia, Latvia, South Africa and places like that to spend short amounts of time (even 1-2 weeks) doing a little teaching stint.
It may distract you from your project for a while, but it really is something which is important to the College's greater mission and as such is encouraged from the Provost on down through Calvin.

There is a section on the application which requires you to explain your project's “benefits to the College”:

“We're tired of reading, ‘This publication is going to enhance the prestige of the college.' We know that! We know that your publication is going to bring glory to Calvin College…”
“What we're looking for is the relationship of this project to any larger agenda put forward by the college.”
For example, if your project is particularly related to advancing Christian scholarship, we want to know that.
Show how your project may alter (improve/adjust/alter) the relationship of the college to the community, the CRC, Christian Schools and similar constituencies; or explain any effect your project may have on the College in terms of Admissions or Development.
“We do understand that this relationship is inherently greater for some projects that for others,” so you are not “penalized” if you cannot concoct a connection.
Try to position / frame your project within the context of the College's larger agendas or initiatives.

Exhibit previous successful research projects (not necessarily funded by Calvin):

“We'd like to know what previous leaves and grants you've received and what the results were.”
Feel free to cast as positive a light on your previous research experiences. Let the light shine on your track record.
This is a place to ignore any impulses towards excessive humility.

Next year, for the first time, we're going to be asking you for an outside letter of support:

We've done this for years with the CRF applications, and we find that the information received is very beneficial.
Your department chair also has to write a letter of support for your application, but such letters tend to focus on the chair's own concerns such as replacement staffing and the like that your leave will present for them.
Think about someone who knows your field of study.
It doesn't have to be someone from a prestigious research facility; it doesn't have to be someone world famous.
Your letter should come from someone who is able to say, “Yes, this is a realistic project for this person,” and “This person will really benefit from this project.”

Sabbatical Leave: Planning for Your Sabbatical