The William S. Lee Doctoral Fellowship Program is intended to provide the doctoral programs in The William States Lee College of Engineering with an enhancement to attract exceptional graduate students for PhD study and research at UNC Charlotte.  A strong preference is given to US citizens.

The fellowship awards, which initially are to be in the amount of $7500 payable over 12 months period, are to be supplemental to the program’s normal graduate stipend, which may be no smaller than the average stipend amount for the cohort being recruited.  Additionally, the Fellows are to receive tuition remission from the program for the periods during which they hold fellowships.  The fellowships are renewable for a second year given satisfactory academic progress by the recipient.

The administration of this fellowship program will be the responsibility of the Associate Dean of The William States Lee College of Engineering.  Each year the available fellowships will be assigned to the PhD programs of the college on a rotational basis.  The program coordinators will be advised well in advance of the recruiting season as the availability of fellowships for their specific programs.  Graduate coordinators will recommend their nominees for fellowship awards to the associate dean.  Fellowship awards are made by the Dean of The William States Lee College of Engineering upon the recommendation of the Associate Dean for Graduate Study and Research.   The dean or the associate dean will annually host a dinner with representatives of the Duke Energy Corporation and all current William S. Lee Doctoral Fellow.

The graduate coordinator of each program shall advise the associate dean on the appropriateness of renewing the fellowship for each of the Fellows in his or her program.  The dean is authorized to make modest adjustments in the dollar amounts of the fellowship awards in response to competitive pressure and/or the availability of fellowship funds.

The fellowship program will begin with the fall 2000 recruiting season during which the electrical engineering PhD program and the mechanical engineering PhD program will each have one full fellowship.

Criteria

• Visit will significantly impact research and/or educational programs.
• Visitor shows excellent potential to collaborate with one or more faculty members.  Nominations from faculty groups are encouraged.
• There is a good possibility that a long-term collaboration will unfold.
• Visit is aligned with department goals and objectives in education and/or research.  Support from the department is encouraged.
• Visits that contribute to faculty development, particularly junior faculty, are encouraged.

Selection Process

• Selection committee: one faculty member from each department appointed by the chairs and one advisory board member.  Appointments made in the fall semester.
• Faculty submit a nominating proposal to the selection committee by February 1st each year.
• Selection Committee ranks up to three candidates and submits recommendation to the Dean by March 1st. The selection committee may make no recommendation if they feel the cases are not strong.
• Dean of Engineering will make the final awards by March 15th.  The number of awards will depend on available funds and the strength of the recommendations.  Awards will not necessarily be made each year.
• The host/collaborator for international visitors must allow ample additional time to work with International Programs to make the necessary arrangements for the visitor.

Nominating Proposal

• Narrative describing proposed collaboration and impact
• Duration of visit
• Budget: salary, travel, supplies, etc.
• Candidate's curriculum vitae

Example scenarios might include:

A long duration visit for a semester or year with $30k provided by the college and matched by a grant and/or department funds.

Short duration visits for several weeks or months requiring $10k to supplement department or other sources of support.

An exchange visit where $20k is provided by the college for the Visiting Scholar and other funds (possibly from the college) support the UNCC collaborator to visit the exchanging institution.

Budgets will typically be limited to about $30k, but other funds may be available from time to time to allow for larger awards.

Eligibility

Tenure-track Assistant Professors with demonstrated accomplishments and the potential for future impact on the college's programs are eligible for the John H. Maxheim Faculty Fellowship.

Selection Process

The Maxheim Fellow will be selected on a competitive basis from the eligible faculty.  Contributions to the programs of the college and the promise for continued enhancement of these programs will be central to the award.  Eligible faculty will be reviewed by the department Chairs in consultation with the Dean. Selection will target each department on a rotating basis.  Priority will be given to nominees of the primary department and the Chairs will present the accomplishments of the eligible faculty for evaluation, discussion, and selection by the committee. The Maxheim Fellow will be announced by the Dean the last week of February of each year, at which time the $5000 grant will be awarded.  Subsequently, the recipient will be recognized with a plaque or certificate at The William States Lee College of Engineering Awards Luncheon in the spring.  By February 1 of the following year, the recipient will submit a brief report to the Dean describing his or her activities and achievements associated with the fellowship.

This two-part grants program is intended to promote faculty, research, and program development in the College of Engineering.  In general, there are no restrictions on the types of activities which may be supported by this program if the proposed activities can be shown to enhance the faculty member's professional development and/or increase the quality of the programs in the College of Engineering.

A. Small Grants Program

1. Normally a grant will not exceed $1500.

2. The purpose of the program is to provide funding for specific purposes directed toward faculty and/or program development.  It is intended to complement, not compete with, the University-wide research and curriculum grants programs or other summer activities.

3. Funds may be requested for a wide variety of uses, e.g.:

a) travel and/or subsistence to attend short courses, workshops, formal visits to other institutions or agencies, etc.

b) purchase of special purpose supplies, small equipment, software, etc.

c) support of student assistants; and

d) other special needs not normally available from regular sources.

4. All full-time faculty of the College of Engineering are eligible for this program.

5. Preference will be given to proposals with rather immediate payoff for the College or faculty member.

6. Proposals should describe briefly the objective and duration of the proposed activity and the use of the requested funds.

7. Proposals should be submitted to the Office of the Dean of Engineering by March 15. Awards will be announced as shortly thereafter as possible.

B. Major Grants Program

1. Normally a grant will not exceed $10,000.

2. The purpose of this program is to provide funding for research and/or other scholarly or educational projects.

3. Funds may be requested to cover any legitimate expenditures to undertake the proposed project, e.g.:

a) Summer salary (up to 2 months) within the amount of the time required for the work proposed;

b) Purchase of equipment, software, etc.;

c) Support of a research assistant.

d) Other needs appropriate for the project and not normally available from regular sources.

4. All full-time faculty of the College of Engineering are eligible for this program, although preference will be given to recent appointees.

5. Preference will be given to projects which will have substantial long-term benefit to the department/College in terms of grants/publications/program development, etc.

6. The proposal should contain the following:

a) Cover page which gives the title of the project, the name, rank, original appointment date, and record of previous grants awarded to the proposer, and the signature of the department chairman.

b) Abstract which briefly describes the proposed project.

c) Narrative which describes the project in greater detail with special emphasis on benefits to be accrued to the faculty member, his/her department, and the College.  A time schedule should be included which describes expected completion dates and major accomplishments.  Some statement should be made concerning public dissemination of the results of the project.

d) Up-to-date curriculum vitae.

e) Supporting letter from the department chair (optional).

f) Stipend request from expenses, supplies, equipment, travel, etc., if any.

7. Proposals shall be submitted to the Office of the Dean, through the Department Chair, by April 1 to permit coordination with possible summer teaching assignments.  Awards will be announced  by May 1. (The funding period is for one year starting July 1 and ending June 30)

8. A report describing the project's activities is due in the Office of the Dean of Engineering on January 1st of the year following completion of the project. The report should contain reprints of publications, abstracts, manuscripts submitted, proposals, etc., which resulted from the project.The report should contain a section describing how the project activities will be continued, if appropriate, and what expected future benefits would result.