Internal Funding Opportunities

Application Link: Link

Upcoming deadline: April 1st, 2026 by 5:00pm.

Brief Description: Open to all part-time and full-time faculty members, these awards support research and scholarship (or, in the arts disciplines, creative activity) reflective of the Boyer model. These awards do not support general professional development.

Funding Information: $3,000 (Full-time); $1,500 (Part-time).

Eligibility: All faculty can apply. Faculty are not eligible to receive more than one FRG or Faculty Research Course Release in an academic year. 

Award Cycle: fall; spring

Nominating Body: Senate Faculty Development Committee

Point people: Victoria Núñez (FDC co-chair); Zhixiong Chen (FDC co-chair); Sam Schechter (Research & Grants Manager, Office of the Provost) 

Evaluation Criteria: 

(1) Alignment with program scope, namely research reflective of the Boyer Model of Scholarship.

(2) Clear articulation of outcomes, including potential contributions to scholarship, professional development, and Mercy's reputation. 

(3) Clear articulation of a project plan and formal research methodology (if applicable). 

(4) Budget clarity, feasibility, and justification, including detailed itemization of expected costs. 

(5) Bonus: alignment with Mercy's mission. 

Post Award Management Guidelines: Link

Application Link: Link

Upcoming deadline: April 1st, 2026 by 5:00pm

Brief Description: This award offers release time for a single course over an academic year to support faculty research and scholarship (or, in the arts disciplines, creative activity) reflective of the Boyer model. 

Award Cycle: Yearly; competition in Spring

Funding Information: One course release

Eligibility: Full-time core faculty members. Faculty are not eligible to receive more than one FRG or Faculty Research Course Release in an academic year. 

Awarding Body: Office of the Provost

Point people: Victoria Núñez (FDC co-chair); Zhixiong Chen (FDC co-chair); Sam Schechter (Research & Grants Manager) 

Evaluation Criteria: Applications are judged on the basis of scholarly merit of the proposed project, the potential for substantial progress on the project, and possibilities for further opportunities (such as external funding or research collaboration).

Application Link: Link.

Upcoming deadline: April 1st, 2026 by 5:00pm

Brief Description: The William F. Olson Chair in Civic and Cultural Studies, made possible by a generous donation in April 1997 by William F. Olson, recognizes a professor for distinguished excellence as a Core Faculty member at Mercy College, where the professor's appointment is in the former Civic and Cultural Studies Division (an academic unit under the College's old Divisions organization). The current corresponding disciplines or degree programs include: Political Science; History; Music/Music Production and Recording Arts; Philosophy; Religion; and Art History/Design and Animation.  

Eligibility: Core full-time faculty not on leave. No faculty member can accept the award two years in a row.

Award Limit: $5,000 

Award Cycle: Yearly (budget allowing); competition in Spring

Nominating Body: Office of the Provost

Point people: Sam Schechter (Research & Grants Manager), Saul Fisher (Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Research, and Academic Initiatives)

Application Link: The Texaco Research Award will not be given out for AY 2026-2027. 

Upcoming deadline: N/A

Brief Description: Mercy University was recipient of a series of generous donations from 1997 to 2000 by Texaco Corporate Contributions and Community Relations to make an award, on an annual basis, to a faculty member for the purpose of conducting research in one of the following three areas:

• Research on career success of low SES students in math, computer science, natural sciences, or business.
• Research on low SES student retention
• Research project in math, computer science, natural sciences, or business that involves low SES students. 

Award Cycle: Yearly (budget allowing); competition in Spring

Award Limit: $10,000

Eligibility: Core full-time faculty not on leave. No faculty member can accept the award two years in a row.

Nominating Body: Office of the Provost

Point people: Sam Schechter (Research & Grants Manager); Saul Fisher (Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Research, and Academic Initiatives)

Application: Link. 

Deadline: 5:00pm March 18th, 2026 

Brief Description: The aim of the Instructional Enhancement Grants program is to support faculty members in optimizing the learning environment for increased student success. These grant monies should be used for project costs that do not fall within the realm of regular departmental expenditures.

Proposals should focus on the following types of activities: 

• Innovations in teaching methods or approaches that foster success for all students, especially students of underserved communities
• Innovations in revitalizing or redesigning a course.

Eligibility: Full-time, core, faculty members are eligible to apply for one individual grant, or jointly apply with up to two other applicants for one collaborative grant.

Award Cycle: Yearly, competition in the Spring. 

Funding Information: $2,500 limit. 

Nominating Body: Senate Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee

Evaluation Criteria:

Proposed activities should be:

• Practicable within a ten-month time frame, and within confines of the budget
• Sustainable at the College with reasonable time, effort, and expense
• Measurable in terms of impact on programmatic learning outcomes.

Application Link: Link

Upcoming deadline: April 1st, 2026 by 5:00pm

Brief Description: Reflection and refinement of teaching practices help us evolve as educators working to enhance student learning and success. Project proposals on teaching and learning themes in any learning modality (face-to-face, blended, online, and other) are welcomed. 

Preferred topics include: 

• Instructional support and mentoring for part-time faculty colleagues
• Implementation and scaling of evidence-based instructional strategies
• Implementation of pedagogical innovation and follow-up study
• Instructional redesign in courses with high failure rates to increase student learning, engagement, and ultimately success 

Award Cycle: Yearly; competition in the spring

Funding Information: $5,250 limit; 3 awards

Eligibility: Full-time core faculty members.

Nominating Body: The Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee (TLAC)

Point people: Amanda Bireline (TLAC Chair); Rachahd Garguilo-Tosado (Office of the Provost)

Application Link: The application for the fall 2026 Senate Micro-Grant competition can be found here.

Upcoming deadline: February 28th, 2026

Brief Description: The aim of the Faculty Senate Micro-Grant Program is to provide support for faculty members to enrich the student experience by increasing faculty–student social interaction outside the classroom. We encourage you to develop innovative project ideas to enhance students’ learning experience and to create a sense of community. In the spirit of the Micro-Grant Program, group project ideas, especially interdisciplinary ones, are welcome.

Award Cycle: Fall; Spring

Funding Information: $1,500 limit (per faculty member)

Eligibility: All core faculty and visiting professors are eligible to apply for one individual micro-grant, and/or to jointly apply with up to two other applicants for a collaborative micro-grant. Adjunct faculty can apply in collaboration with one or more full-time faculty.

Nominating Body: Faculty Senate

Point people: Salil Akhatr (Faculty Senate Treasurer)

Full Award Guidelines: Link

Application Evaluation Rubric: Link

Application Link: Link.

Upcoming deadline: Rolling applications

Brief Description: At Mercy University, faculty scholarship and professional development are highly valued. We believe that excellence in higher education is achieved through the pursuit of new knowledge, innovation, and creativity via research, professional practice, and scholarly activities. We strongly encourage faculty to take advantage of all available professional development opportunities and to consider utilizing faculty travel funds in support of these efforts.

Funding Information: Faculty may receive up to $1,500 per (fiscal) year for attending a conference or professional development opportunity. Faculty presenting at a conference may request an additional $500 for a total of $2,000 per year if presenting at a conference. Travel funds are subject to fund availability as the Office of the Provost monitors budget constraints.

Eligibility: All faculty can apply

Point people: Anna Krstevski (Office of the Provost)

Full Award Guidelines: Link

Application Link: Link.

Upcoming deadline: February 13th, 2026

Brief Description: This fund is intended to support adjunct faculty members' participation in activities that will enhance their teaching, including attendance at local and national conferences, certifications, continuing education, and pedagogical projects or initiatives. Projects may be proposed in the categories of curricular development or pedagogical development. Please note that for curricular development projects and activities, proposals must be approved in advance by a Department Chair/Program Director; those proposals that are not approved in advance will be disqualified.

Award Cycle: fall; spring

Funding Information: Award Limit: $1,000

Eligibility: Only adjuncts are eligible to apply for this award. 

Awarding Body: The Office of the Provost

Point people: Obioma Ude (Faculty Affairs Manager, Office of the Provost)

Application Link: Link for nominations; application link forthcoming.

Upcoming deadline: Nomination deadline: March 4th, 2026 by 5:00pm. 

Brief Description: The Teaching Excellence Award honors core and visiting faculty colleagues who have distinguished themselves through the high quality of their teaching over the past academic year. It recognizes the pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning. Nominations from fellow Mercy faculty members and/or students should briefly describe the nominee’s teaching practice and reason(s) for the nomination. 

Award Cycle: Yearly; competition in Spring

Funding Information: $1,000 and plaque; one award for full-time faculty and one for part-time faculty. 

Eligibility: Full-time and part-time faculty apply for separate awards. 

Nominating Body: Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee

Point people: Amanda Bireline (TLAC Chair); Rachahd Garguilo-Tosado (Office of the Provost)

Application Link: TBD

Upcoming deadline: TBD

Brief Description: The Online Educator award honors faculty members who have distinguished themselves by demonstrating an outstanding combination of classroom management, course design, innovative presentation and dedication to online teaching and learning.

Award Cycle: Yearly; competition in Spring

Funding Information: $1,000 and plaque; one award.

Eligibility: Part-time faculty only.

Nominating Body: Ad Hoc Committee

Point people: Mary Lozina (Director of Mercy Online)

Evaluation Criteria: Evaluation is based on evidence of nominees’ distinct and positive impact on student learning at the College, such as student testimonials. Such evidence is judged by the committee for its quality and significance. Students complete an online nomination form within which they briefly describe the professor's online classroom management, innovation and dedication.

Application Link: Link

Upcoming deadline: April 1st, 2026 by 5:00pm. 

Brief Description: This award celebrates outstanding scholarly or creative works published or presented during the previous two academic years, including books, articles, paper presentations, artistic or creative productions, and alternative media for scholarship

Award Cycle: Yearly; competition in Spring

Funding Information: $1,000 and plaque; one award.

Eligibility: Core faculty only

Nominating Body: Faculty Development Committee 

Point people: Victoria Núñez (FDC co-chair); Zhixiong Chen (FDC co-chair); Sam Schechter (Research & Grants Manager)