Sabbatical

The purpose of the Faculty Sabbatical Program is to enable recipients to be engaged in intensive study in order to become more effective teachers and scholars and to enhance their service to the university.

The sabbatical program should also be understood as recognition of past and continuing academic contributions of the recipients in keeping with the Select Mission of UWRF.

Criteria

The education committee of the UW System Board of Regents identified several emphases to be addressed by sabbatical projects, including:

• Projects in support of the mission of the institution
• The scholarship of teaching and learning
• Interdisciplinary activities
• Collaborative program activities
• International education
• Application of technology to instruction and distance education
• The teaching and learning of any of the five UW System Shared Learning Goals, including the Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative, the development of curricula and assessable objectives for student achievement
• Support of the mission of the institution
• Scholarship of teaching and learning
• Interdisciplinary activities
• Collaborative program activities
• International education
• Application of technology to instruction and distance education

Conditions

The following conditions govern the faculty sabbatical program:

• In the administration of faculty sabbaticals, creditable service for retirement purposes will vary, depending on the length of the sabbatical and level of compensation. A faculty member considering a sabbatical leave request should consult with the institutional fringe benefit coordinator prior to submitting a formal request.
• A faculty member may receive supplementary grants or other awards while on sabbatical leave, but such compensation, when combined with the amount of institutional compensation, shall not exceed the full compensation normally received from the UW System for that period.
• Such additional grants or awards may be received by a faculty member only if the conditions for accepting the additional resources do not interfere with the stated purpose of a faculty member's sabbatical program.
• A faculty member may seek additional grants specifically for travel or unusual living expenses incident to the sabbatical program without restriction by the full-compensation maximum (see condition 2).
• A faculty member may not use the sabbatical period to accept other paid employment during the period of the leave, unless stipulated as a condition of the leave. If so stipulated, condition 2 is operative.
• A faculty member must specify all grants or other awards applied for or to be received during the leave in his/her application for the sabbatical program.
• A faculty member must agree to return to UWRF for at least one academic year of service after the termination of the sabbatical or repay any compensation (salary plus the University's share of fringe benefits) received from the UW System during the sabbatical.
• A faculty member must submit a written report outlining his/her accomplishments during the leave to the Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. This report should be submitted within three months after the faculty member's return to full-time employment.

Procedure

• Complete application (below). The application has directions as to what to include in your proposal.
• Application is due no later than 11:59 pm. on due date.

Due Date

Update as of 6/3/24: The funding for sabbaticals has been suspended until further notice. 

Sabbatical Types

Two types of sabbatical leaves are available to faculty members:

•  A faculty member may take a sabbatical leave for an academic year and receive from the institution financial support at any level up to 65% of his/her full compensation for that period.
• A faculty member may take a sabbatical leave for one semester of the academic year and receive from the institution financial support at any level up to a maximum of his/her full compensation for that period.

Eligibility

At the time the sabbatical proposal is submitted, the faculty member must have met the following criteria:

• The faculty member is tenured at the time of application.
• The faculty member has completed at least six years since the conclusion of their last sabbatical leave.
• The faculty member has completed at least six full years of employment at UWRF as a probationary or tenured faculty member.
• If the faculty member has taken a leave of absence, for whatever reason, the leave period shall be excluded in determining the faculty member's years of full-time service.

A sabbatical will NOT be awarded to a faculty member who does not plan to return to UWRF for at least one academic year of service after the completion of the sabbatical.

 

Review

Sabbaticals are reviewed by the Faculty Professional Development subcommittee of Faculty and Instructional Academic Professional Board.

Sabbatical Ranking Form

Previous Recipients

2024-2025
Rich Wallace
Suruj Seunarine
Veronica Justen

2023-2024
Joel Peterson
Matthew Dooley

2022-2023
Jennifer Willis-Rivera
Kiril Petkov
Ioana Ghenciu
Greta Gaard

2021-2022
Zhiguo Yang
Paul Shirilla
Hossein Najafi
Logan Kelly

2020-2021
Paul Shirilla
Joseph Rein
Mark Gillen
Scott Ballantyne

2019-2020
Andris Straumanis
Dan Marchand
Doug Margolis
Kathy Tomlinson
Neil Kraus

2018-2019
Relen Hardtke
Sylvia Kehoe
Erik Hofacker
Jong-Won Park
Thomas Barnett

2017-2018
Hamid Tabesh
Darryl Miller
Cyndi Kernahan
Rellen Hardtke

2016-2017
Ross Jilk
Vladimar Pavlov
Kaylee Spencer
Kristin Tjornehoj

2015-2016
Davida Alperin
Gary Onan
Jamie Schneider
Michael Miller

2014-2015
Bernice Ficek-Swenson
Randy Johnston
Claire Kilian
Matthew Dooley
Mialisa Moline
Barbara Nielsen
Michelle Parkinson
Reza Rahgozar

2013-2014
Matthew Dooley
Bernice Ficek-Swenson
Randy Johnston
Claire Kilian
Mialisa Moline
Barbara Nielsen
Michelle Parkinson
Reza Rahgozar