Academic Staff Professional Development grants available

All UW–Madison academic staff with 50 percent appointments or more are invited to apply for fiscal year 2011–12 Academic Staff Professional Development (ASPD) Grants for conferences, training or other professional development projects that occur between July 1 and Dec. 31. Proposals should focus on training and/or retraining to improve the academic staff members’ effectiveness in their current roles. Funding is not available for fundamental job skill training, course development or salaries.

Authorized and funded in part by UW System, the program’s main objectives are individual professional development, improved program quality and improved institutional effectiveness in concert with the university’s strategic priorities. The funds can be used to send an individual to training or to bring a trainer to campus for work with a group of academic staff. Awards typically range from $200 to $1,000 or more, with an average award of $850.

This program is sponsored and administered by UW–Madison, and half of the funding for the proposed activity comes from the staff member’s department or unit. The Professional Development and Recognition Committee (PDRC) of the Academic Staff Assembly administers the review process by a committee of academic staff.

Application instructions are available at http://acstaff.wisc.edu/awards/pdGrants.aspx. Informational brown bag sessions will be held at noon on Friday, Feb. 18, in the Memorial Union (TITU) and at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 23, in room 274, Animal Sciences Building Room.

Applications must be submitted as .pdf or .doc files to department chairs or unit heads by Monday, March 21. Academic staff with split appointments who proposed projects that are related to all units for which they work to secure endorsement of each employing unit. Applications that have been approved by department chairs/unit heads will be forwarded to the office of the dean/director or equivalent, then sent to the Secretary of the Academic Staff.

For more information, contact Donna Silver, secretary of the academic staff, at acstaff@bascom.wisc.edu, or 263–2985.