Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

To apply for a Faculty Professional Development Assignment, complete the Application Cover Sheet and append the materials requested below in the order listed. Please contact your college for the required number of copies of all forms and materials. In preparing and assembling your application, refer to the Faculty Professional Development Assignment Program Overview.

• APPLICATION COVER SHEET: Attach this completed form to the front of your application and forward to your Department Chair


• TITLE AND ABSTRACT (150 words maximum, on a separate sheet): Write the abstract in third person and in active voice. Using clear and concise language that would be understood easily by a layperson, summarize the proposed activities. The ideal abstract educates the reader, including Regents and legislators, about the research by describing the content and giving a sense of the importance of the work; describes the expected outcomes of the proposed project; and provides a brief summary of how the assignment will be of benefit to teaching/students and to the state of Iowa or to society in general. If your request for an FPDA is approved by the college and university, this statement will be submitted to the Board of Regents as part of the request for approval of your award.
• DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION (maximum 5 pages, double-spaced with standard margins and fonts): Explain the project in terms that an educated reader from outside your field can understand. Specify:
• Purpose and significance of project: Describe the nature and significance of the project, including a clear, concise statement of the objectives for the project and your aims in undertaking it.
• Work to be accomplished: Describe specifically what you plan to do during the assignment period. Where will you carry out the work and why? Identify persons (if any) with whom you will work. Include a time-line of proposed activities.
• Your qualifications: Describe how you are ideally qualified to undertake the proposed program.
• Projected outcomes: What tangible outcomes will your project have, what form will they take, and how and where will you share these results with others (e.g., publication, presentation, exhibition, classes)?
• Append copies of correspondence (invitations, support, etc.) pertinent to this application.
• JUSTIFICATION (maximum 1 page, double-spaced): Please describe how the project will benefit ISU. How will it contribute to your teaching and/or students (be specific with course titles, number of students taught)? How will it contribute to your own scholarly development? Describe clearly how your work will benefit the state of Iowa or society in general. In what way does this project require a time commitment beyond that involved in the normal activities encompassed in teaching, research, scholarship, and service?
• PREVIOUS FPDA REPORT: Describe the productive use and outcomes of any previous FPDA.
• CURRICULUM VITAE (5-8 pages maximum): Include a summary (NOT your complete CV) of your professional employment, duties, and accomplishments. Include a list (selected, if necessary, to keep within the page limits) of your professional publications and creative works.

Updated 8/2011

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, 1550 Beardshear Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011-2021
Office Hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Phone 515-294-9591, Fax: 515-294-8844