Funding Opportunities: Library Ed Tech Development Fund

The Library Ed Tech Development Fund is managed by the College of Arts and Sciences Library and Educational Technology Committee and is intended to support exploration and innovation within CAS in the following areas:

• The application of technology to enhance teaching or research;
• The use or creation of information resources to support teaching or research; 
• Approaches to teaching information literacy, digital literacy, or other types of advanced digital skills within the curriculum;
• Textbook affordability, including the use of Open Educational Resources.    

Specific types of activities that may be funded:

• Registration and travel for an individual or a team to a conference or workshop to support a particular project or professional development goal;
• Costs for hosting a speaker or workshop on campus;
• Costs such as student labor or supplies for a project;
• Small stipends for faculty (for example, a stipend as an incentive to attend a professional development activity on campus);
• Student employment;
• The purchase of technology tools or software.

The fund will not support:

• Purchasing library collections;
• Large stipends for faculty (for example, a summer research stipend).

Examples of successful projects have included:

• A sound engineering workshop for students in the Theatre Tech concentration and in support of the main stage production;
• Faculty attendance at the Digital Humanities Summer Institute;
• A student/faculty project to create a digital archive of student research on Lewis & Clark’s medieval manuscript;
• Software that assists with assessment of student writing in AES;
• A program to encourage the use of Open Educational Resources as textbooks;
• The creation of an open access textbook;
• The development of digital class materials to support a sequence of World Languages courses;
• A series of campus workshops on minimalist computing.

The staff of Educational Technology and Watzek Library are available to assist you with the preparation of the proposal. Applicants requesting an amount over $2,500 should consult with the chair of the Library and Educational Technology Committee before submitting an application.

All proposals must be approved by the applicant's department chair. Some requests may require matching funds due to high initial cost.

The Library and Educational Technology Committee typically issues a call for proposals early in the spring semester. Review of applications and notifications of awards occur before the end of the spring semester. If funds remain after this initial review, the committee may accept applications on a rolling basis or make another call for proposals.

Recipients will be expected to fill out a brief form detailing the outcomes of their funding by the following September. They will also be asked to participate in the Faculty Technology Showcase held each year to demonstrate and discuss the outcomes of their project.

This program began in May 2016, and the Library Educational Technology Committee will review and adjust the program each year. Please send feedback about the program to the committee chair.

Applications for projects that occur between January 2024 and May 2025 (FY25) are now being accepted through the end of the day Monday 6 January 2025.