Faculty Travel Awards

2026-27 Funds

The Faculty Travel Award fund supports faculty travel for purposes of professional development and scholarship. Travel Awards are available in amounts not to exceed more than $1,300 per academic year. For the 2026-27 academic year, the total amount available will be divided among Fall (Sept. 1-Dec. 31), and Spring (Jan. 1-May 31) terms; the start-date of travel determines which term the Award falls into, as defined above. If attending a conference in the summer, please apply before May 31 to ensure the Committee can vote. Travel Awards are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis among all qualifying applications, until the term’s fund is exhausted. Any unused balance at the end of a term will be rolled into the next term, within the same fiscal year. No funds will roll from one fiscal year into another.

Who is Eligible?

All tenure-track and tenured MCLA faculty in at least their second year. First-year faculty are already guaranteed support for their first-year conference and therefore are not eligible to apply for this award.

Restrictions

No faculty member may receive more than one Travel Award per academic year. No Travel Award can be used, in whole or in part, to:

• Self-fund a stipend
• Pay guest speakers
• Travel with students to professional meetings or conferences (such as NCUR)
• Faculty members are expected to only request reimbursement for travel costs that they personally incur and that are not already covered by other sources

Separate funds are available for these opportunities, such as through Undergraduate Research, and the Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs will endeavor to assist such initiatives.

Application Process and Requirements

To qualify for the Travel Award, the following four items must be completed and submitted to the Committee no later than 30 calendar days before the official posted starting date of the conference:

• One completed budget detailing your expenses related to the conference
• One copy of written approval from your Department Chair in support of your travel (email is acceptable)
• One copy of the official Call for Papers for the conference
• If you are presenting: one copy of your notification of acceptance from a conference organizer
  OR
• If you are NOT presenting: a statement of purpose describing what you intend to learn by attending

You will receive notification about the status of your application via email. If approved, you must complete the required Travel Approval Dynamic Form that will be delivered via email. Final approval, and disbursement of funds, is contingent upon VPAA signature. Please save all original receipts for reimbursement.

After you attend the conference, a travel reimbursement form will need to be submitted. Please reach out to your Department Admin. or the Admin. in Academic Affairs for assistance.

No later than 30 calendar days after the official posted end-date of the conference, the following two items must be submitted to the Committee:

1. A copy of your completed Travel Reimbursement Dynamic Form
2. A brief report on the conference you attended, detailing the professional value of the experience

Please note that failure to meet this reporting requirement will render the recipient ineligible for future Faculty Travel Awards.

Please submit all items (questions, applications and reports) via email to the Committee on Professional Development and Retraining at facultytravel@groups.mcla.edu.

The body reviewing Travel Award applications is the Committee on Professional Development and Retraining, formed according to the MSCA contract (Art. XIV, p. 243 in the 2020-23 Agreement), composed of three faculty members appointed by the MCLA Chapter President and two staff/administration members confirmed by the President.