Request for Proposals Round II
Bridge Professorships
Request for Proposals
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The Office of the Provost invites proposals for Bridge Professorships. To date, two proposals have been funded:
- Cognitive Science
- International Environmental Security (with an emphasis on water)
The Bridge Professorships program enables the hiring of faculty whose scholarship bridges academic units across or within schools. The program enhances the already vibrant interdisciplinary work across the university and forms the foundation for new interdisciplinary bridges.
Our intention is that the hires provide a foundation for interdisciplinary work difficult to establish under our traditional departmental and school-based hiring practices. We are looking for proposals across at least two schools, or units within schools. There is no limit on the number of proposals that may come from any school or unit, and we welcome resubmissions of past proposals.
As described in the T10 Strategic Plan, the proposals should “emerge from existing and new faculty working groups, interdisciplinary programs, and other collaborative processes.” The positions are intended for new hires only. The proposals should identify a defined joint interdisciplinary area for the position, not a person; we are interested in building strong areas of interdisciplinary work rather than targeting individuals. You may, however, give examples in your proposal of the kind of hire who would be good matches for the position in order to demonstrate the viability of the candidate pool.
All appointments will be at a tenured level, at the rank of either associate or full professor. In those schools or areas that do not make tenured appointments, the appointment must be a continuous term appointment at the rank of associate or full professor. The rank of the hired faculty member should be the same in each participating unit. The faculty member will have tenure or a continuous term appointment in each supporting school or academic unit. The appointments will be joint; the customary designation of primary and secondary will not be applicable.
The Office of the Provost will cover 1/3 of the salary, benefits and start-up costs over the first five years of the position, after which all costs must be covered by the participating units.
We anticipate that hires will have a start date of July 1 or September 1, 2015.
Proposals should include:
- The Submission Form that will provide an Executive Summary of the proposal and the name of the contact persons for each participating unit.
- A narrative rationale for the position (7-10 pp., double-spaced). This rationale should include the following:
- A clear statement of the interdisciplinary area the hire would work in, with an explanation of the importance and vibrancy of this area, as well as the linkage to existing disciplines and scholarship at Tufts.
- A statement of how the hire will help meet the needs of the proposing units and expand their work.
- A description of any prior or current collaborations among the participating units and their faculty. A description of how the proposal was developed, including those who participated in its development.
- A budget estimate for the salary, benefits and start-up costs. The budget should include an indication of how the different units involved in supporting the position will fund the costs, as well as their relative share, during (a) the first five years of the appointment, and (b) after the five-year funding from the Office of the Provost ends.
- A concise bibliography of selected publications in the interdisciplinary field.
- A brief letter from the deans of each participating school acknowledging that they have reviewed the application.
Please submit proposals as one electronic document (Word or PDF) and any inquiries to:
Kevin Dunn, Vice Provost
Ballou Hall, 1st Floor
Medford Campus
kevin.dunn@tufts.edu
Proposals will be treated as rolling submissions. After we receive your submission, we will be in contact with you for any further information needed to review your proposal. The proposals will be reviewed by the Provost and his staff, and applicants will be notified as promptly as possible.