Philip and Miriam Kapfer Faculty Research Award

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The Philip and Miriam Kapfer Faculty Research Award (referred to hereinafter as the Kapfer Research Award) is designed to provide leave and a monetary award for the development and pursuit of research interests among faculty members with preference given to those faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences. Recipients of the Kapfer Research Award are selected by the Committee on Creative Work and Research under the auspices of the Office of the Provost. Selection is based on the originality and significance of the proposal and the applicant’s perceived capacity to complete the work.

The Kapfer Research Award is funded from an endowment established by the Kapfer family. The award will be presented biennially. The award provides one semester of full-time leave with pay or two semesters in the same academic year with half-time load, plus a stipend of $4,000. The stipend will not be subject to retirement benefits. Colleges to which the faculty recipient belongs will receive $15,000 from the endowment in compensation for the leave, but the expenditure of the funds is controlled by the dean of the college.

The award will be used during the academic year for which it is granted for research in the faculty member’s area of expertise. It may not be used for a project that in any way contributes toward the attainment of a degree. The award recipient will provide the Office of the Provost a comprehensive, written report on the completed research together with plans for additional ways to disseminate the research results by October 1 following the award year.

In the event that no eligible request for the Kapfer Research Award is received in a given year, no award may be granted, and that year’s earnings on the fund will be added to the principal of the fund.

Eligibility:

All faculty, with a preference for those in the College of Arts and Sciences, with the rank of lecturer or above and who have served the University for at least three (3) academic years prior to the effective date of the appointment, are eligible to apply for the Kapfer Research Award. A faculty member who has received a Kapfer Research Award may be considered again for the award only if three or more years have elapsed since the original award year. Applications for the 2026-2027 Kapfer Research Award will be accepted in Fall 2025.

Application Guidelines:

Generally, all supporting documents are to be submitted to the Office of the Provost by the last week of September. Specific dates can be found on the deadlines web page. The application form is the same as that used by applicants for the University Research Professorships. All College of Arts and Sciences faculty who apply for a University Research Professorship in a year that a Kapfer Research Award is made will be considered to have also applied for the Kapfer Research Award.