Thanks to the generosity of Doris and Carl Kempner and Juanita and Joseph Leff, Purchase College is pleased to announce the 2024 Senior Faculty Research Awards. This award will subsidize research, performances, exhibitions, conferences, and/or recital expenses. The awards will be primarily for having achieved distinction or having the immediate potential for such distinction in one or more fields within the college’s mission, including artistic performance, scholarly distinction, and pedagogical innovation. Proposals for the development of experiential courses, interdisciplinary courses that cross school or conservatory boundaries, or new international experiences or courses are especially welcome. Emphasis will be on the national or international achievement of the recipient and on his or her contribution to the college. Distinction within a specific field will be a major criterion, but special attention will be given to applicants whose work shows connections with fields outside their own specialty, in accord with the college’s mission in the performing, liberal, and visual arts.

Kempner Award in its final year has been increased to $7,000 over two years (Kempner: 2025-27) recipient will receive a total of $7,000. The funds will be distributed as follows: $5,000 as a summer stipend and $2,000 for reimbursable expenses.

Leff Award recipient will receive a total of $5,000 over one year (Leff: 2025–26)

Eligibility

  • Tenured full-time faculty members in any unit of the college above the rank of assistant professor, and equivalent library ranks, are eligible to apply. An award will be given each year, ordinarily for a full professors and/or an associate professor. 
  • Any meritorious project representative of the faculty member’s professional interests and activities is eligible for submission. This includes the entire range of scholarly research, a creative or artistic work, the formulation of a new component of the curriculum requiring the synthesis or acquisition of further knowledge, the evaluation and improvement of instruction either within a discipline or across disciplines. Projects that enhance the relationship between the fine arts and the liberal arts and sciences are especially welcome.

Applications/Nominations  .doc

Please assemble all materials and submit them together electronically to the Director of your school or conservatory; incomplete applications cannot be accepted. Each application or nomination should contain:

  1. a current curriculum vitae
  2. a two-to-three page account of the candidate’s achievement and a description of the project for which funding is sought
  3. two letters of reference, at least one of which must be from outside the college, attesting to the national or international standing of the candidate’s work
  4. Please note: The Faculty Professional Standards and Awards Committee requires that nominees’ rank, tenure, and full-time or part-time status be indicated on all applications.

Directors should:

  1. verify the applicant’s eligibility and status (tenured full-time faculty above the rank of assistant professor, and equivalent library ranks)
  2. indicate their support on the description of the proposed project
  3. send the amended application as an attached file to Provost.Officer@purchase.edu no later than February 10, 2025.  Deadlines that fall on a weekend and/or holiday are extended to the next business day.

Selection process

  1. Finalists for the award are chosen competitively by the Faculty Professional Standards and Awards Committee. The panel represents a range of disciplines, reflective of the total curriculum of Purchase College.
  2. From the finalists submitted by the faculty referees, the provost will select the winners and announce them to the campus.