The Appalachian College Association’s Faculty Fellowship Program is the longest-running program of the ACA. It furnishes substantial support toward the professional development of faculty members at its member institutions and is open to all academic areas of study. The Fellowship Endowment is supported by the generosity of foundations, member schools, and individual contributions. The ACA received its first major grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1991 for continued support of the Faculty Fellowship Program. The ACA completed a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2000, which further boosted the endowment for faculty fellowships and development.
Awards may be provided to faculty in any discipline. Over the history of the program, the ACA has distributed nearly 600 awards totaling nearly $9.8 million.
Eligible faculty members may seek support through one of three programs:
- One-Semester Professional Leave Fellowships: Faculty may apply for funding to support professional leave/sabbatical from their institution for a full semester. An application may seek up to a maximum of $20,000. Semester fellowships in the Arts and Sciences are named in honor of John B. Stephenson, former president of Berea College and, who in 1990, received the first Mellon Foundation grant for fellowships to form the “Appalachian College Program."
- Summer Research Fellowships: Faculty may apply for support for their research during a summer term, up to a maximum of $7,500.
- In-Year Research Fellowships: Faculty may apply for support for release from their standard institutional duties during a semester in the academic year, or over a full academic year, up to a maximum of $10,000.
ELIGIBILITY
- Full-time faculty member at an ACA institution for at least two years prior to application
- Return to teach for at least one academic year at the same ACA institution
- Endorsement of chief academic officer
Please review carefully the fellowship policies and procedures before submitting an application. We encourage you also to view the short informational video below. Member institutions are limited to no more than four applications per cycle. Applicants should confer with their Chief Academic Officers prior to submission to ensure common understanding of the proposal/budget and the CAO's support of the proposal. The application cycle for fellowships opens each year in early August, and deadline for fully completed applications is October 31. Award decisions usually are made by early December.
View the Faculty Fellowship Informational Video
ACA Faculty Fellowship Guidelines
ACA Announces the 2023-24 Faculty Fellowships
The Appalachian College Association is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2023-24 Faculty Fellowships. Through this program, the Association will furnish during the 2024-2025 academic year financial support to member institutions’ faculty for post-doctoral research or pre-doctoral degree completion.
This year, thirty-four faculty members, representing eighteen member institutions, are awarded fellowships.
