WeR1:
Investing in Faculty Success
A Program for Faculty Research Support
About the Program
The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), in collaboration with Academic Affairs and ADVANCE at UNM, has launched an institutional initiative to support main campus faculty in navigating the post-pandemic world. UNM data show that during the pandemic, many faculty members spent less time on research and scholarship and related professional development as they revised their teaching and dealt with new and different demands in their home lives. As we transition out of the pandemic, the WeR1 Faculty Success Program seeks to support UNM faculty in new and creative ways.
Goals of the WeR1 Faculty Success Program were created with the understanding that faculty retention and advancement depends upon increased transparency, supportive structures, and resources that allow faculty to transition, rebuild, recover, and/or refocus their research, scholarship, and creative work. Any investment must encompass both small steps and expansive interdisciplinary initiatives—faculty need support now, but they also need that support to remain in place and be accessible in the coming years. The OVPR has committed over $1 million in funding for this program over the next two years.
Eligibility
UNM Main Campus tenure track or research faculty are eligible to apply for the programs when available. Preference will be given to non-tenured early career, tenure-track faculty and faculty whose research progress/productivity has been demonstrably affected by the pandemic. Recipients must have submitted all reports and requirements from previous OVPR awards.
Current RFP
Next request for proposals coming soon! All proposals will be submitted through the UNM Research InfoReady portal.
Previous Programs
WeR1 Faculty Success Summer Program
In Summer 2021, over $280,000 of allocated funds were distributed to faculty members for support of research graduate students, writing, travel, repair or replacement of equipment, and incentives for human subject research:
- 87 faculty participants
- Over 2/3 of the applicants were women
- 83% of the submissions were from assistant and associate professors
- View the Summer 2021 Full RFP (application period closed July 2, 2021)
WeR1 Faculty Scholarship Time (FaST)
The FaST program provides funding for faculty to receive either a one-semester, one-course reduction in their teaching load or support for a graduate project assistant to assist with course-related duties (grading, office hours, preparation of course materials, etc.). Funding will be available for Spring 2022, Fall 2022, and Spring 2023. Metrics on the first FaST program in Spring 2022 will be available at the end of the Spring 2022 semester.
- View the Spring 2022 FaST program Full RFP (application period closed Sept. 3, 2021)
