Summary

A majority of faculty is aware of most of the seven internal grant programs that Purdue funds, although assistant professors, females, and underrepresented minorities are less aware of these programs than others. Less than half of respondents had applied for each of the grants within the past five years. Some who had not applied perceived that their research area would not elicit interest among grant reviewers, while others felt that the grants were too small to be worth pursuing or that they should be awarded to less senior faculty than themselves.

Faculty were most likely to have applied for travel grants, academic reinvestment grants, and fellowships for graduate students, and grant applicants were most likely to have been awarded graduate student fellowships, travel grants, summer salary grants, and Multimedia Instructional Development Center (MIDC) grants. Assistant professors were the most likely to have been awarded summer salary and MIDC grants, while full professors were the most likely to have been awarded matching equipment purchase grants and academic reinvestment grants. Female applicants were less likely than male applicants to have been awarded each of the seven internal grants.

More than two thirds of respondents believed that four existing professional development programs, Study in a Second Discipline Program, Teaching for Tomorrow Mentoring Program, the Purdue Research Park (PRP) Gateway Program, and the PRP incubator centers and programs, are important to continue offering. Females and underrepresented minorities were especially likely to believe that the Teaching for Tomorrow mentoring program is important to continue.

Sixty percent of associate and full professors have taken a sabbatical leave. Those in Liberal Arts, Science, and Management are the most likely to have taken at least one sabbatical while those in Veterinary Medicine, Technology, and Health Sciences are the least likely to have done so. The most common reasons for not taking a sabbatical leave include family constraints, fear of losing ground in their research, and time constraints.

Faculty also had the opportunity to list new professional development programs that they would like to see Purdue offer in the future. By far the most commonly cited programs were 1) grant writing and teaching effectiveness workshops, 2) training in instructional technology, 3) faculty mentoring, and 4) travel grants.

Finally, when faculty were asked to evaluate their own professional development, a large majority responded that they are quite satisfied with their teaching ability and their level of involvement in professional organizations related to their discipline. Most are also satisfied with their current productivity level and their ability to attract and mentor students, while only half are satisfied with their level of funding for research or creative efforts.

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