Guidelines for Special Leave
Senate Faculty Affairs Committee
The Faculty Affairs Committee encourages all eligible full-time faculty members
to apply for a Special Scholarly Leave, a Special Teaching Leave, or both. According
to Faculty Policy Series #22, "members of the instructional staff with five
years of continuous full-time service at Hofstra University shall be eligible.
They become eligible for subsequent Special Leaves five years from the start
of the previous leave." By contract, the total number of leaves (Scholarly and
Teaching) allowed each year shall be 13.5% of the number of full-time faculty
in the bargaining unit who have completed five years of service at the commencement
of the fall semester in which the leaves are granted. Leaves are distributed
proportionally throughout the various academic units.
Applicants for Scholarly Leave submit their proposals to their chairs,
whose recommendations are forwarded to the appropriate deans. Applicants for
Teaching Leave submit to chairs, who forward their recommendations
to the Center for Teaching Excellence. The Faculty Affairs Committee reads all
applications and recommendations and submits its recommendation for the dispersal
of all scholarly and teaching leaves to the Provost.
Eligibility
Full-time faculty of any rank may apply in their fifth year of continuous service
for their first proposed leave. Faculty seeking a subsequent leave may apply
no sooner than the fourth academic year after their last leave for a proposed
leave in the following year. If your last leave was in 2002-03, you are eligible
to apply in 2006-07 for a leave to be taken in 2007-08.
The Application
You may submit separate and distinct proposals for both Scholarly and Teaching
leaves; however, applicants can be awarded only one leave. Your application
should consist of a cover letter, proposal, and vita.
In the brief cover letter addressed to your chair, indicate the topic
or title of your proposal and when (fall or spring semester) you would like
to take your leave. If you have received a special leave in the past, indicate
when that leave was taken, and the results of that leave.
The focus of your application should be a project proposal of about
4-5 single-spaced pages. It should be a concise and clearly-written explanation
intelligible to colleagues, most of whom are likely to be non-specialists in
your field. Indicate the importance of your project, its possible impact on
your field of study, how far along you are in the project, and what you hope
to accomplish during your proposed leave. Applicants proposing collaborative
projects should provide details of their particular involvement.
Your current vita should include a publication history and a summary of service
at the University. Special Teaching leave applicants should include evidence
of a commitment to good teaching (CTR's, peer evaluations, etc. as per guidelines
distributed by the Center for Teaching Excellence).
Criteria
In compliance with FPS #22, The Committee ranks proposals according to the significance
of the proposed project as a contribution to knowledge, curricular developments,
and the reputation of the University. It also considers the time since your
last special leave; the degree to which the goals of previous special leaves
were met; the likelihood of significant progress in or completion of the project
as a result of the special leave; the applicant's service to the University;
and in (the case of Special Teaching Leaves) evidence of good teaching.
9/2006
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