Faculty Fellowship Program

Since 1996, over 100 BGSU faculty members have completed ICS fellowships. The projects of ICS faculty fellows demonstrate the power of the humanities to expose, address, and respond to complex social problems by conducting interdisciplinary humanities research or creative work that includes a significant public-facing (i.e. beyond academia) component for one semester. Faculty fellowship work has focused on topics such as human trafficking in Costa Rica, the opioid crisis, teaching the Holocaust, forgotten Black composers of classical music, the history and legacy of the 19th Amendment, and many others. 

About the Program

Each year up to four full-time BGSU faculty members may receive an ICS Fellowship to pursue interdisciplinary research or creative work that includes a significant public-facing component for one semester. During the award period, Fellows have limited teaching-related and service duties and a reduction of two or more course assignments, subject to agreement of Fellow, Chair/Director, and Dean, so that they may devote increased time to their projects.

ICS supports interdisciplinary projects in areas where external funding is likely to be limited. We are unable to support the following: projects of a purely scientific, technological, or quantitative nature; projects centered on academic unit curriculum (such as a revised major/minor); projects without a community engagement component; or projects from scholars external to Bowling Green State University.

Eligibility

All full-time BGSU faculty members who have successfully completed at least three continuous years of service since hire are eligible to apply for a fellowship. 

An ICS Fellowship may not be completed during an academic year in which the Fellow will also be on Faculty Improvement Leave (FIL), nor during an academic year immediately following an FIL. Faculty members who have previously received an ICS Fellowship must wait at least five years after the completion of the Fellowship before reapplying. No more than two faculty members from one department, school, or program may be in residence at ICS in any given academic year. Priority will be given to applicants who have not previously received an ICS Fellowship.

We especially encourage applications from Qualified Rank Faculty (QRF) who have few institutional resources to support scholarly and creative work, as well as tenure-track assistant professors. Joint applications by two full-time BGSU faculty members are possible. If a dual application has two discrete outcomes, one full fellowship will be awarded to each individual. If a dual application has a single, joint outcome (or series of outcomes), one fellowship will be awarded to be split between the two fellows.

Expectations of the Program

During the award period, recipients are expected to participate actively in the intellectual community at ICS, record an interview about their project for the BG Ideas Podcast and offer at least one public event sharing their work. ICS fellows are expected to deliver a public facing outcome of their project by the end of the fellowship. Meaningful public engagement requires purposeful interaction between university and community populations with the goal of generating tangible, mutual benefit. ICS adheres to an expansive notion of community engagement which may include communities beyond Northwest Ohio and the United States. 

Fellows remain on regular academic-year salary throughout the award period. Academic units receive compensation to offset the release time of selected faculty (a maximum of $5,000 for a one-semester residency in all cases). 

ICS Fellows are asked to acknowledge the role of ICS in publications and creative projects that result from their residency. A brief report about accomplishments during the fellowship is also required by the end of the academic year.