Faculty & Staff Resources

Faculty should be familiar with the following information resources:

Provost Web Site: Provides a wide range of information on scholarship, teaching and professional development. A selection of this information is highlighted in the sections on this page.

Human Resources Web Site: Beyond providing information on compensation and benefits, this site highlights opportunities for career coaching, leadership training, and skills development.

The evaluation, promotion and tenure processes are governed by the Provost’s Office and are described here. The promotion and tenure process accommodates discipline-specific guidelines in addition to university requirements and criteria; the approved discipline-specific guidelines for School departments are provided here:

Beyond the rank and tenure process, we are proud to recognize faculty who distinguish themselves within the School and University, in the community, and within their professional societies.  This includes faculty who are:

• Endowed Professors
• Fellows in their respective professional societies
• Journal editors and conference/symposia/workshop organizers
• Winners of School Awards
• Winners of University Awards
• Winners of Society and Community Awards 

The Professional Development Program has the goals of supporting scholarship, effective teaching, and a variety of professional development opportunities.

School Opportunities: Within the School, in addition to the financial resources described in the next section of this web page, several support programs exist. For more information on these School programs, contact the SoE Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development.

Research: Supplemental funds are often available to fund travel to NSF proposal writing workshops, particularly those for the NSF CAREER program. Funds may also be available to visit program managers at federal agencies that have relevant Calls for Proposals. In addition, funds may be requested to support travel relating to serving as a journal editor (some journals request that associate editors meet once a year at a flagship conference for the respective professional society), organizing a major conference or workshop, or serving on a professional society technical committee.

Teaching: Supplemental funds are often available to fund travel to teaching effectiveness and pedagogy workshops. Examples of these include:

Active Learning Summer Workshop, taught by School faculty and offered periodically during summers, teaches faculty how to use active learning techniques in the context of redesigning a portion of one of their own courses.

ASEE National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI), typically offered 2 times/year.

KEEN workshops on project based learning, active and collaborative learning, and entrepreneurially minded learning (PBL/AL/EML), typically offered 3-4 times/year.

Faculty many also use their annual professional development funds to attend activities such as the WPI Institute on Project-Based Learning, the Olin Summer Institute, or the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Making Academic Change Happen (MACH) workshop.

Supplemental Travel Support: Through the KEEN program, supplemental travel support is available to support faculty to attend conferences in which they disseminate findings regarding work they do to inject entrepreneurially-minded learning into their academic programs.  In addition, support is often available to attend local industry conferences, symposia and exhibits as a means of staying current with technical innovations and to better understand current issues affecting economic viability, customer needs, and commercialization trends.

University Opportunities: At the University level, the Provost’s Office administers several additional programs to support professional development and activities. These programs include:

Research/Scholarship: A variety of funding opportunities are available as listed in the next section of this web page. Beyond project funding:

Leave/Sabbaticals: Tenure stream faculty are eligible for scholarly leave programs such as the Junior Faculty Development Leave program and the Sabbatical program. More information is available here.

Intellectual Property and Research Commercialization: Faculty engaged in the development of new technology should complete a technology disclosure form through the Provost’s Office. That office will then coordinate a review of the technology for patentability and commercialization. More information is available here.

Research Compliance: Support is available for faculty to better understand requirements and constraints relating to the responsible conduct of research. This includes issues such as conflicts of interest, the use of human subject, export control, etc.  More information is available here.

Teaching: Several programs provide support to faculty regarding teaching and pedagogy:

Faculty Development Program: Services include providing classroom observation and consultations, facilitating the assignment of mentors, supporting faculty groups that provide opportunities for shared support and mentorship, and holding periodic VITAL (Vitality in Teaching and Learning) workshops on topics such as inclusive teaching practices and addressing challenges in the classroom. Specific programs and resources are available for new faculty and for department chairs. More information is available here.

Faculty Collaborative for Teaching Innovation: The Collaborative coordinates a number of initiatives. The CAFÉ (Collaborative to Advance Faculty Excellence) is a series of lunchtime conversations about teaching practices. The Digital Resources for Teaching (DRT) collection offers advice and best practices on teaching-related issues. Faculty learning communities, typically formed on a quarterly basis, facilitate discussion on specific teaching topics such as assessment or active learning techniques. Several faculty associates are supported to consult with faculty on curricular innovations. And finally, the Collaborative financially supports several teaching innovation projects each year. More information is available here.

Technology Enhanced Teaching: The Academic Technology group in the Information Services department works with faculty to support use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. This includes offering a Course Redesign Seminar for teaching online courses as well as a series of summer workshops on development of multimedia course content. Instructional technology staff are also available to work one-on-one with faculty to incorporate technology into their courses. More information is available here.

Professional Skills: The Human Resources Department offers workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions throughout the year on a variety of professional skills topics, such as leadership, time management, project planning, etc. More information is available here.

Tenure track faculty members are expected to develop external resources and opportunities as necessary to support their scholarship. The Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) and the Development Office are available to assist you in proposal development in this regard. SPO typically handles proposals to government agencies or to published Calls for Proposals by industry or non-profit groups. The Development Office generally coordinates donation or sponsorship requests to corporations, foundations, and individuals.

School Resources: Within the School, there are several funding programs to support faculty research, teaching and professional development. For more information on these School programs, contact the SoE Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development.

Faculty Professional Development Fund: All tenured/tenure track faculty, lecturers, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Full Teaching Professors receive an annual allotment of funds to support their professional development needs relating to travel and supplies. When these funds are provided and the amount awarded is dependent upon the SoE financial situation. Any unused portion of these funds is used to balance accounts at the fiscal close and avoid using restricted gift money and money from school reserves accounts.

Dean's Excellence in Research Fellowships: Graduate students submit applications to this program for awards ranging from ~4 units of tuition support to full tuition/stipend support for multiple quarters.  The program includes financial support from several different endowed funds, each with award criteria; in some cases, engagement in research with a faculty member is required. This Call for Proposals is sent directly to enrolled students; however, a copy of this CFP is sent to faculty so that they may encourage their students to apply.  Note that a letter of support from a faculty member is required.  Awards are highly competitive. 

IDC Return to Faculty: The Dean provides a percentage of the IDC returned to the school with the PI's of a grant. This calculation typically occurs in September for the prior fiscal year and is based solely on the actual IDC dollars returned to SoE. The intent of providing this money is to stimulate further research activity that leads to an increase in externally funded competitive awards. Providing this money is not guaranteed. Proposals greater than 25K will be considered by the Dean's office. If approved, the Dean's office will support up to 50% of total cost. 

Kuehler Undergraduate Research Program: This endowed program typically supports 6-8 undergraduate students in order to work on research with a faculty member during a summer.  As this is the School’s premier research opportunity for undergraduates, awards are highly competitive.  Applications for this program are typically solicited in the Winter quarter. More information about this program is available here.

University Resources: At the University level, the Provost’s Office administers several additional funding programs to support faculty research, teaching and professional development.   Typical programs include:

Faculty Summer Scholarship Stipend: Support for faculty research, scholarship and creative activity.

Faculty Course Research Initiative Grants: Support for a course release and supplemental expenses during the academic year to support faculty research, scholarship and creative activity.

University Research and Teaching Grants:  Research grants support projects that will lead to significant publication or support from external sponsors.  Teaching grants support activities to improve the quality of education through curricular or pedagogical innovation.

Sustainability Research Initiative Grant:  This program supports research, professional development activities and a research retreat to foster collaborative research and community projects related to justice and sustainability.

Lecturer Activity Grants: This program provides grants to lecturers for professional development in the form of scholarly or creative work, professional practice, or other engagements enabling a lecturer to remain current in a field and vital as a teacher.

Faculty Student Research Assistant Grant Program: This program provides wage and benefits support for undergraduate students to serve as research assistants on faculty research projects.  Proposals are submitted by faculty, with funds supporting students.

Provost Publication Grants: These grants support publishing, indexing, copyright and other costs/fees associate with scholarly/creative publications or exhibitions. More information is available here.

Provost Research Fellowship:  Up to two of these awards are made each year to juniors with promising research agendas.  Support is for summer research relating to the student’s own independent research objectives, conducted under a faculty mentor.  The program focuses on students planning to pursue graduate study and to apply for major nominated fellowships.  Students apply themselves but must coordinate their research plan with their faculty mentor, and the mentor must submit a nomination. More information is available here.

Clare Booth Luce Scholars: This program supports summer research for undergraduate women who are U.S. citizens majoring in the natural sciences and engineering (not applicable to pre-health majors).  Funding supports wages, benefits, research supplies and domestic travel. More information is available here.

Undergraduate Travel Award: Awards of up to $1,000 support undergraduate student travel to present results at a scholarly meeting or to participate in a creative project as a scholarly endeavor. More information is available here.

Summer Housing Assistance for Undergraduate Research:  A limited number of awards are made for summer research students in order to provide a 50% subsidy of the cost of on-campus housing. More information is available here.

Centers for Distinction Resources: Finally, faculty and students should be aware of funding opportunities through the Centers of Distinction.  Calls for Proposals are issued periodically by those Centers, with opportunities typically in areas such as:

Markkula Center: Applied ethics.  More information is available here.

Miller Center: Social entrepreneurship.

Bannan Institutes: Activities that further the Jesuit nature of the University. More information is available here.

Ciocca Center: Activities relating to our understanding and practice of innovation and the entrepreneurial mindset. Funding opportunities exist for research, curricular development, and faculty/staff development programs.  More information is available here.

There are very specific guidelines for how faculty and staff may interact with external agencies/companies/non-profits when pursuing external support (certainly financial, and perhaps non-financial).

The bottom line is that SoE faculty/staff should ALWAYS disclose such activities to the School’s Associate Dean of Research. They should be aware of such efforts and will assist you in following the proper policies for engaging partners and soliciting support of various kinds. Note that even if the desired partnership doesn’t involve the exchange of funds, it may very well require coordination and review in the form of establishing memoranda of understanding, addressing risk/safety issues, clarifying IP concerns, and definitively identifying any quid pro quo.

In general, a major distinction in how such activities are pursued is whether or not resources (financial, in-kind, etc.) provided by the partner to SoE is considered a philanthropic gift or an agreement in which specific expectations of performance are required (a grant, a contract, or a cooperative agreement).  To help determine whether your initiative is a gift vs a sponsored project, the University’s Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) has an evaluation checklist.

In general, gifts are processed through the University’s Development / University Relations office, while grants, contracts and cooperative agreements are processed by the SPO. However, in some cases, both of these offices are involved if a philanthropic gift has complex financial considerations, if a grant-like industry agreement is part of a larger corporate engagement strategy, etc. These subtleties are why all such activities should be disclosed to the SoE Associate Dean of Research; they are available to guide you in your work and to provide support for doing so as necessary.

When Submitting Grant Proposals

Faculty should be aware that there are clear guidelines regarding the process for submitting external proposals to SPO for grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, etc. This information is provided on the SPO Web Site.

To initiate the submission process with SPO, a faculty member should submit that office’s Intent to Apply form at least 5 days prior to the submission deadline for the program. Faculty are encouraged to submit this form or otherwise communicate with SPO personnel far in advance of deadlines since that office can provide additional advice and assistance in such cases.

Note that all proposals (narrative, budget, etc.) are reviewed at the department (by the Chair), School (by the AD Research) and university (by the Provost’s Office) levels as part of the proposal submission and review process. This review process ensures that the proposal is consistent with the mission of the institution, is budgeted properly, and that special aspects of the proposal are raised (and possibly pre-approved), such as IP, ITAR and technology transfer, requests for course release, the need for additional space, the use of subcontracts, the use of human subjects, the need for animal testing, safety issues, and so on. Faculty developing proposals with such considerations should certainly coordinate/discuss their plans with SPO/SoE officials well in advance of submitting a proposal.

Interactions with Companies and Foundations     

It is fair to wonder how much interaction one may have with a representative from a company or agency prior to disclosing the contact. Many faculty routinely interact with such representatives by virtue of the work they do, the functions they attend, etc. As a result, off-hand conversations can often lead to discussions on how the organization might be able to work with or support Santa Clara University.

For interactions with a government agency, faculty are encouraged to develop contacts, speak to program managers, etc. on their own. Official disclosure occurs at the time of the formal submission of a proposal; this formal routing through the School and SPO provides all necessary coordination, management, and oversight. If by chance, you are planning to apply to a federal program that has a limit on the number of PIs that can submit from an institution in any one proposal cycle (this is true for a small number of NSF programs, for example), you should notify SPO well in advance; if there are more faculty interested in applying than the number permitted, the Provost’s Office will decide which proposals will be permitted for submission. Sometimes, faculty are asked/required to submit a “white paper” for consideration and feedback prior to an official proposal. You may do this, however, it is appropriate to let SPO know that you have done this, and you should mark any quoted budget detail as DRAFT.

Interactions with companies and foundations, however, are more delicate. This is because there is more risk for multiple, seemingly-independent interactions by different university personnel to conflict, sometimes to the detriment of all. Furthermore, the approval process and subsequent transfer of gift or projects funds from such non-government agencies can vary widely. This has led to disputes over the distribution of funds, inappropriate structuring of funding opportunities, upset sponsors, and other negative consequences.

So – as soon as any conversation you have with a representative from an external organization advances to the point where you are talking about the potential for them to support a program, activity or effort, you are required to disclose this. Depending on whether the concept involves philanthropy or tangible deliverables, you should inform the SoE Associate Dean of Research. If in doubt, inform either/both and they will decide how to track the effort, involve Development / University Relations or SPO if there is uncertainty, etc.

Did You Know?

• Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), and even software license agreements that require an institutional signature are all legal documents that require review by the university.  This is typically coordinated by the Director of Sponsored Projects. In many cases, an institutional officer (often from the Provost’s Office) must serve as that signatory. The Associate Dean of Research can assist you with this process.
• Gifts and donations, financial or otherwise (to include equipment, donated use of software licenses, etc.), should be disclosed to the Development / University Relations office. 

The university has explicit policies and procedures in place regarding Intellectual Property (IP) and Copyrights. Detailed information on these topics may be found here.

In general, faculty working on projects in which there may be IP should fill out an Invention and Technology Disclosure Form and submit it to the Office of Research and Faculty Affairs. This form is available at the link provided above. This form should be filed prior to any public disclosure of the technology in order to determine if the university can/should take action to protect the related IP (note the once the technology is publically disclosed, the ability to protect is mostly sacrificed). A provisional patent may be filed to temporarily protect the idea while a deeper analysis regarding whether or not to pursue a full patent takes place.

For technology developed via a student project, note that senior capstone reports and graduate thesis documents are official university documents that are made publically available. It is possible to request that the public disclosure of these documents is delayed in order to take actions to protect IP; this is done with a form that is filed at the time the reports/documents are submitted for academic purposes.

Faculty conducting externally sponsored research should discuss IP implications of the proposed work with personnel from Sponsored Projects Office and/or the Office of Research and Faculty Affairs. IP policies for government grants typically conform to a well-understood set of requirements/constraints. Industry-sponsored work, on the other hand, must often be individually negotiated; this may even be the case for joint industry projects without explicit financial support, with or without in-kind contributions, etc. Faculty considering joint industry projects - sponsored or not - in which IP may be developed should consult prior to the initiation of such work with personnel from Sponsored Projects Office and/or the Office of Research and Faculty Affairs.

Faculty should be aware of the two considerations regarding whether the university will pursue a patent for any particular technology development. First is the issue of whether it CAN be patented in the sense of it being a novel innovation. The University retains a legal service to help determine this and to file the patent application if necessary. Second is whether it SHOULD be patented. This second question is more an issue of whether patent protection is worthwhile. The university has a consulting firm to assist in this determination. Issues in this regard include whether or not the technology can be marketed/commercialized (can it at least pay for the cost to acquire the patent in the first place?), if it is a fundamental technology (which may take a while to yield tangible benefits but which may be a foundation for new areas of innovation), etc.

If a technology is patented and selected for possible commercialization, faculty will work with an external consulting firm to develop a marketing strategy. General information about this process is available here.

The School has a collection of books on topics relating to technical innovation, teaching methods, and other topics of general interest.  Authors include leading thinkers such as David and Tom Kelly, Clayton Christensen, Tim Brown, and Steve Blank. Books may be borrowed from the Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development.  Titles include:

Click here to find a cumulation of the required text that should be included on your syllabi.

The School of Engineering has created some Tips, Tricks, and How-To Guides. You will need to be signed in to your @scu.edu email address to access the following resources:

• Adobe Digital ID Signatures (to sign digital PDF forms)
• Checking Your Voice Mail from Out of Office & Forwarding Calls
• Reserving Heafey 103 & 131 Conference Rooms
• Reserving Heafey 127 & 128 Conference Rooms
• Tips & Tricks for Streamline Working

Financial Policies

• School of Engineering Budget Policy and Guidelines 9-15-24
• Honorarium Policy
• Startup Fund Usage Policy
• Professional Development Fund Usage Policy
• Indirect Cost Distribution Policy

Staff Policies

• Flexible Work Schedule Policy

General Policies

• Framework for Conference Policy and Planning

Digital Media Policies

• School of Engineering Social Media Policies and Best Practices
• SCDI Digital Signage Policy

Current LCA Postings:

• LCA Ramamoorthy
• LCA Wang