Life-Career Interface Initiative

Vilas Life Cycle Professorships

Vilas Life Cycle Professorships

Thanks to the generosity of the Vilas Trustees, the Vilas Life Cycle Professorship program will provide research support during 2008-09, pending UW Regent approval. The Vilas Life Cycle Professorships provide funds to faculty and permanent PIs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who are at critical junctures in their professional careers and whose research productivity has been directly affected by personal life events (e.g., illness of a dependent, parent, spouse/partner, or oneself; complications from childbirth; combination of major life events).

Eligibility:

These funds are available to tenure-track and tenured faculty, and academic staff with permanent PI status at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All faculty and permanent PIs are eligible, regardless of discipline or gender.

Application:

To apply for a Vilas Life Cycle Professorship, please:

1. Fill out the cover page, budget form, and the current/pending support form. Awards are capped at $30,000, and funds may not be used for salary of the applicant. The award period is one year.
2008 Application (pdf)
2008 Application (MSWord)

2. Write a statement of need in 3 pages or less. Statement should at minimum address four main points:

a. Why is this a critical juncture in your career?
b. What is the life event you are experiencing, and how has it affected your research progress?
c. How will the requested funds help you through the crisis and enhance your research program?
d. What are the costs/consequences of not receiving the funding?

3. Include your CV or a biographical sketch and funding record in the application package.

4. A letter of support from you department chair is encouraged, but not required.

Because critical life events cannot, in many cases, be planned for in advance, deadlines for submission of applications will occur three times a year. In 2007, these deadlines are:

• May 30, 2008 (for awards beginning before October 1, 2008)
• October 3, 2008 (for awards beginning before February 1, 2009)
• January 2, 2009 (for awards beginning before June 1, 2009)

Applications may be submitted either in hardcopy form, or via email. Hardcopies may be mailed to:

WISELI
2107 Mechanical Engineering Building
1513 University Ave.
Madison, WI 53706

Email applications should be sent to sheridan@engr.wisc.edu.

Administration:

The Vilas Life Cycle Professorship applications will be processed through the Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) and the Office of the Provost. Applications will remain confidential within the review committee (1). Graduate School Research Committees will review expenditures for awards, but will not have access to applications. Awardees must agree to submit a report of activities upon completion of the Professorship period and participate in evaluation efforts for the program. Once awarded, the processing of expenditures of the grant funds occurs within the recipient's department or unit.

1 In special cases, a Graduate School Dean or Associate Dean may be asked for technical advice regarding the research program; they will also regard the application materials as confidential.

For More Information:

If you have questions about the Vilas Life Cycle Professorships, contact Jennifer Sheridan at sheridan@engr.wisc.edu; (608) 263-1445. Common questions may be addressed in this list of Frequently Asked Questions .

Additional links of interest:

	Vilas Life Cycle Professorships Evaluation Reports: 2005, 2006, 2007
	Update: Life Cycle Research Grant Pilot program
	Full Evaluation Report of the Life Cycle Research Grant pilot program

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