MCAD Faculty Senate Professional Development Grants
AY 2025-2026 Guidelines
This document outlines various guidelines, requirements, eligibility criteria and FAQs for the AY 2025-2026 Faculty Senate Professional Development (FSPD) Grants. A few key points will be outlined in this introductory section, but all applicants are expected to have read and understood these guidelines in full.
Key FSPD Grant Details
- Applications are due by Wednesday April 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM CST
- Applications will be submitted via Submittable: https://mcad.submittable.com/submit
- Individual grants will have a maximum award of $2000
- Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by May 15th, 2025
- Prof. Natasha Pestich is serving as the Chair of the FSPD Grant review committee and may be contacted with any questions about the application process
Purpose of the FSPD Grants
Faculty engaged in artistic production, scholarship, and dialogue contribute richly to the fabric of the College and the educational experience of our students as well as to the larger community. Therefore, as per Article XVI both the Full-Time and Adjunct Collective Bargaining Agreement:
MCAD shall allocate Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000) for use by part-time and full-time faculty for professional development activities related to their scholarship, artistic practice, professional practice or excellence in teaching, and for travel for professional reasons. A Faculty Member shall be eligible for an annual maximum grant of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000).
Faculty Senate Professional Development Grants may fund such things as:
- The purchase of supplies and equipment for the production of work
- Costs associated with the presentation of work
- Travel for research or to present or complete work
- Attendance at workshops and conferences to support excellence in teaching or professional development
- Professional documentation of work
- Costs associated with the production of work
A note on valuable faculty work not aligned with the focus of FSPD Grants
Faculty wishing to attend conferences whose primary benefit is to the college should seek funding through Department Faculty Professional Support Funds.
A notes on faculty wishing to apply for host-dependent funding
Faculty wishing to seek support for an opportunity dependent upon a host organization must provide confirmation of acceptance with their application.
Duration of FSPD Grant Activity
Faculty Senate Professional Development Grants activity must take place between June 1st, 2025 and May 31st, 2026.
Eligibility for the FSPD Grants
As per Article XVI of both the Full-Time and Adjunct CBAs:
Faculty Members shall be eligible for faculty professional grants in accordance with criteria established by the Faculty Senate.
Full-Time Faculty
All Full-Time MCAD Faculty Members are welcome to apply for a FSPD Grant.
As per Article I for the Full-Time CBA, Full-Time Faculty are defined as:
All full-time Faculty who teach undergraduate or graduate level credit-earning courses or labs at MCAD’s campus locations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, including Ranked Faculty holding the titles of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Full Professor, Ranked Pro Rata Faculty and Visiting Faculty.
Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct Faculty who have taught classes at MCAD totaling at least 9 academic credit hours by the application deadline are eligible to apply for a FSPD Grant. The 9 eligibility credits are counted cumulatively over your time at MCAD, not consecutively.
As per Article I of the Adjunct CBA, Adjunct Faculty are defined as:
All part-time Faculty who teach undergraduate or graduate level credit-earning courses or labs at MCAD’s campus locations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, including but not limited to Faculty holding the titles of Adjunct Faculty or Adjunct Professor.
In the event that an Adjunct Faculty member is not granted a contract for a continuing appointment during which the grant activities will take place, the faculty member will be eligible to complete the grant and must complete the final report in accordance with the procedures outlined below.
Grant funds must be returned in the event a faculty member is not granted a contract for a continuing appointment due to disciplinary action, misconduct, or early termination.
Review Criteria for FSPD Grants
Grants are limited. It is anticipated that the process will be selective and competitive.
- Grants will be reviewed by the Faculty Senate Professional Development Grant Committee.
- Review Criteria will include quality of work submitted and quality of proposal as determined by a peer review.
- The activity of the grant will take place between June 1st, 2025 and May 31st, 2026.
FSPD Grant Review Committee
- Natasha Pestich - Committee Chairperson
- Piotr Szyhalski
- George Mahoney
- Gretchen Gasterland-Gustafsson
- Alexis Schramel
Application Requirements for FSPD Grants
Applications must include the following materials:
- Application Form
- Resume/CV
- Work Samples (10 images OR a combination of 6-10 images and a maximum of 10 minutes worth of moving image (film, animation, and video) OR written materials up to 20 pages)
- Budget (note the section on taxes & withholding below)
Applications lacking any of these materials will not be reviewed.
Application Procedure for FSPD Grants
Deadline for Applications: Wednesday April 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM CST
Application Portal
- Applications will be collected using Submittable at this URL
- Faculty members will need to create an account in order to use the platform.
- Applications may be saved as drafts before final submission.
Notification of FSPD Grant Awards
As per Article XVI of both the Full-Time and Adjunct CBAs
Notification of the grant awarded shall be communicated to the Faculty Member by the Faculty Senate. [...] Notification of all other Faculty Senate Professional Development Grant awards shall be communicated by the Faculty Senate to the Vice President of Academic Affairs by May 15
Notification to the Faculty Member and the Vice President of Academic Affairs of Faculty Senate Professional Development Grant awards will be via email by the Faculty Senate President.
An archive of all applications will be kept by the Faculty Senate for one year.
Distribution and Withholdings for FSPD Grant Awards
For the 2025-2026 FSPD Grant cycle, awards will be disbursed through payroll, and taxes will be deducted before faculty receive their funds.
Full-Time Faculty
Full Time Faculty are subject to withholding depending on each individual's benefits profile (403(b), healthcare benefits, voluntary additional deductions for tax, pension, insurance, etc.) -- on average, this works out to about 24.5%
Example Scenario: A Full Time faculty member receives a development grant of $2000, depending on their benefits package, they would be allocated $1510 after accounting for an average benefits profile which is $2000 - $490 (24.5%).
Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct Faculty are subject to the standard tax withholding at 7.65% (6.2% + 1.45%) and there are no further deductions.
Example Scenario: An Adjunct faculty member receives a development grant of $2000, they would be allocated $1847 after tax which is $2000 - $153 (7.65%).
If you have specific questions regarding your situation, please contact the business office (business_office@mcad.edu) or MCAD CFO,Mary Alma Noonan.
Final Reports from FSPD Grant Recipients
Grant recipients will file a final report detailing their grant activities. The report should be approximately 500 words and may include visual documentation of the work produced if appropriate.
Final reports should be submitted to the Secretary of the Faculty Senate no later than May 1st, 2026. This is important for Senate accountability. Reports may be shared with the wider MCAD community including other faculty, administration, staff, and the Board of Trustees.