Internal grants (Faculty Development Endowment grants, Hill Fund for Curricular Development and Pedagogical Innovation grants, or professional support funds) are awarded through the Office of Academic Affairs. Contact April Allen, allena@rhodes.edu.
External grants. Information on these pages concerns external grants - those awarded by government agencies, foundations, or corporations. External grant applications, awards and reports are coordinated through Rhodes’ grants office, which is located within the Development Division and physically housed in Dorothy C. King Hall on West Campus.
If you are planning to apply for a grant, inform and involve the Grants and Foundations Manager, Lydia Spencer, early in your process, ideally six to eight weeks before your deadline. She can offer key assistance and facilitate approvals.
The Provost and the Vice President for Finance and Business Affairs must pre-approve the submission of all grant proposals. The Grants and Foundations Manager, Lydia Spencer, can help navigate this process with the required External Grants Approval Checklist (links to Box), which documents the information these staff need about projects to issue their approval.
Cost sharing or matching funds. The Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs will evaluate any proposal that requires cost sharing beyond what Rhodes would normally provide. When a grant proposal requires fundraising to be done by the College to obtain matching funds, the initiator must send the final draft of the proposal along with a list of prospects for the matching funds to the Provost, the Vice President for Development, and the Vice President for Finance and Business Affairs for initial approval, and then to the President for final approval when necessary. (See policy in college handbook.)
Criteria for nominating faculty for external grants. In the event that the number of faculty members expressing interest in applying for a particular external grant opportunity exceeds the number of institutional nominations permitted by that agency or foundation, the Provost will have the discretion to choose whom to nominate, based on the following criteria:
- Timely indication by the faculty member of his or her intention to apply.
- The strength of the proposed project and its importance to the faculty member’s overall plan for professional development, based on the information provided to the Provost.
- The likelihood of the proposal being funded, based on the Provost’s understanding of the funding organization’s priorities.
- The potential availability of alternative funding for the faculty member.
Deadlines: It is the policy of Rhodes College to submit grant applications and required reports 24 to 72 hours ahead of published deadlines. This allows the Grants and Foundations Manager time to address any technical glitches that may occur; manage multiple submissions; avoid submissions on weekends, holidays or scheduled vacations; and maintain the college’s reputation for excellence. We will not submit grant applications that are incomplete, last-minute, or lacking the required prior review and institutional approvals.