Teaching Conference Travel Grants
The University Teaching Council offers three options for conference attendance which include:
- Domestic Travel Conference Award - $1,000.00 (ie, airfare, hotel etc) - one award per fiscal year
- Foreign Travel Conference Award - $1,200.00 (ie, airfare, hotel etc) - one award per fiscal year
- Virtual Conference Award - 2 virtual conferences per applicant per fiscal year, not to exceed $800.00 for both conferences combined (domestic or international).
To qualify for this grant, the conference must be directly related to the UTC's mission to enrich and enhance teaching and curriculum development and improvement. This includes, but is not limited to, activities addressing pedagogy/andragogy, instructional technology, evidence-based teaching and learning practices, and emerging issues such as artificial intelligence, inclusivity, and experiential learning. Attendance at the conference should provide support for gaining knowledge of pedagogy, or knowledge of how to relate specific teaching strategies to the discipline. It should not focus on gaining further subject matter knowledge, whether this would enrich teaching in this area or not. Therefore, conferences focused on specific research or content areas without a teaching component are not eligible. Faculty must explicitly demonstrate how attending the conference meets this requirement.
Travel conference grant requests must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the start date of the conference and virtual conference grant requests must be submitted 14 days before the start date of the conference.
Apply for Travel/Virtual Teaching Conference Grant
The University Teaching Council exists to support and encourage outstanding faculty teaching. The Teaching Conference Travel Grant (TCTG) provides reimbursement for travel and related expenses associated with efforts to advance faculty teaching pedagogy (namely andragogy) at Kent State University. The intent of this grant is to fund travel explicitly connected to the processes and practices of teaching, above and beyond the acquisition of content related to courses taught. This includes, but is not limited to, participation in conferences workshops and seminars either as an attendee or presenter with the intent to improve one’s teaching practice. For example, funding might be requested to attend a teaching conference or to present a teaching or pedagogical piece at an academic conference. While information gained at any academic conference could potentially be used in the classroom, applicants must demonstrate how attendance will support their teaching practice.
The University Teaching Council will award Teaching Conference Travel Grants up to a maximum of $1000 for domestic travel and $1,200 for international travel.
Conferences: The University Teaching Council supports faculty travel to conferences which serve as the forum for scholarly communication about faculty teaching. Awards may also support conference-related expenses and publication charges. TCTG applications must be submitted at least 30 days prior to date of departure in order to be considered for a travel grant award.
Workshops and Seminars: The University Teaching Council provides support for travel to specialized workshops and seminars where advances in faculty pedagogy and disciplines are being presented and discussed. The University Teaching Council emphasizes advances with specific relevance to the teaching mission of Kent State University.
Eligibility All full-time faculty members at any of the eight Kent State University campuses are eligible for a Teaching Conference Grant. Faculty may also wish to apply for funds from other sources. Funds will be awarded to those activities which have a clear connection to the advancement of learning and educational excellence at Kent State University and the mission of the University Teaching Council.
Grant Recipients Grant recipients are expected to make a panel and/or poster presentation at the annual University Teaching Council Conference in the fall.
Faculty may receive only one Travel Conference Grant per fiscal year.
TCTG applications must be submitted at least 30 days prior to date of departure in order to be considered for a travel grant award. The UTC Committee will decide on the application within one month of application.