Library Toolbox for Faculty and Staff

The Joyce McKnight Fellowship 

Full Details are Available with the Application Form Here 

We will accept applications for review until January 17th. Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they're received. 

The library is thrilled to announce the Joyce McKnight Fellowship program. Dr. Joyce McKnight was a longtime Empire University community member and a tireless Open Educational Resources champion. In her honor, the library is offering fellowships with awards between $2000 and $5000 per participant or team. The proposal below outlines a program that will support the faculty of the Empire University Community in efforts to remix, update, and adopt existing Open Education Resources (OER). The fellowship program's goal is to promote the broader use of high-quality OER while focusing specifically on leveraging existing resources for adaptation rather than on creating new OER objects or content. The program’s goal is to support a diverse set of projects across academic disciplines to increase the accessibility and quality of OER as well as assist with the college’s overall goals of making courses more affordable for students.  

Program Goals:  

1. Increase Adoption of OER at SUNY Empire. 

2. Promote OER remixing and revision.

3. Encourage Affordability for students. 

Program Eligibility: 

1. Be a faculty member at Empire State University

2. Have a plan to remix, revise, and adopt existing OER materials for a specific course or educational program. 

3. Demonstrate alignment with program goals for OER adoption.  

4. Commit to making the resulting OER materials freely available for use and reuse by others by working with the campus OER librarian to make the revised OER available in the University digital repository. 

Fellowship Structure:  

The goal of the program is to fund between 5-10 fellows or teams with the number of fellows dependent on the number and quality of applicants received. The amount of funding per project will range from $2000 to $5000 depending on the complexity, scope, and quality of applications received. Fellows will be asked to submit a brief application and then the projects will be reviewed by a small board of members of the Empire State University faculty for final selection. We anticipate the timeline for the fellowship from application to completion of projects to be no more than 12 months.  

We will be accepting applications for the fellowship with the following project types: 

• Remixing an existing OER – For example, one could combine multiple OER resources to create a new cohesive set of materials with a specific course in mind.  

• Updating an existing OER – Revising outdated content or adding content that was missing from the original OER. This could also include added accessibility features like alternative text, video citations, or more inclusive language and images.  

• Adopting an existing OER – Taking an existing OER and altering it to fit into a particular course or academic program.  

• The McKnight Fellows program will consider applications for original OER projects with the caveat that the proposed program is modest in scope and could be expected to be completed within the stated 6-12 month period.  

 

Pilot Program to Support Fees Associated with Open Access Publishing 

To ensure a fair and efficient allocation of grant funds, faculty members applying for assistance with publication fees in Open Access (OA) journals must follow the application process below.
Total Funding Amount: $13,000
Funding Breakdown:
•6 awards of $500 each – These award amounts would be available to those who have already received funding to cover the cost of publication in OA journals from the UUP IDA where IDA funding did not cover the full cost of publication. ($3,000)
•3-5 awards between $2,000 - $3,000 dependent on the number and quality of applicants.

The online application form can be found here 

Step 1: Eligibility Criteria
Faculty members and professional staff must meet the following criteria to apply:

Employment Status: Must be a full-time or part-time employee at Empire State University.

Publication Type: The publication must be in a peer-reviewed, reputable Open Access journals, hybrid or subscription journals that require payment for Open Access . If you have any questions or concerns about the reputability of a particular publication please reach out to Jennifer Collins, the OER and Scholarly communications librarian for assistance with reviewing the publication.

Funding Needs: Priority will be given to junior faculty, faculty in need of financial support, and those with significant research or institutional impact.

UUP Exclusions: Costs that have been previously denied or fall outside the scope of UUP funding will be considered eligible for this grant.

Step 2: Application Submission
In order to assess eligibility for publication funds please fill out the following information for review by the library:

Personal Information:
Name
Department
Position (e.g., junior faculty, senior faculty, staff, mentor)
Publication Information:
Title of the research article
Journal name and publisher
Journal’s Open Access policies and Article Processing Charges (APCs)
URL link to the journal’s publication fee page

Justification Statement (250 words max):
•Explanation of why the grant is needed and how it aligns with the applicant's academic and research goals.
•Description of the significance of the research and the anticipated impact on the institution, field of study, and community.
•Indicate if other sources of funding have been explored (e.g., UUP) and why they were not successful.

Budget Breakdown:
Detailed breakdown of publication costs (APCs, submission fees, etc.).
Indicate the amount requested from the grant (up to a maximum of $3,000). Please note that if you have received IDA funding already toward publication fees you are eligible for a maximum of $500.

Timeline:
Expected date of article submission.
Indicate whether the article has been accepted, conditionally accepted, or is under review.

Additional Materials (Optional):
Supporting documents, including acceptance letters or correspondence with journal editors.

Step 3: Review Process
Initial Review by the Library Grant Committee:
The Library Grant Committee will conduct an initial review to ensure eligibility and completeness of the application.
Incomplete applications will be returned with instructions to resubmit.

Evaluation Criteria: Applications will be evaluated based on:
Financial need and potential impact of the grant on the applicant's ability to publish.
Quality and relevance of the research.
Contribution to the institution’s goals of enhancing inclusivity, student success, and organizational effectiveness.
Diversity of research fields and faculty backgrounds.

Faculty Feedback:
Applicants may be contacted for additional information or clarification during the review process.

Final Decision:
The committee will notify applicants of the decision within 4–6 weeks of submission.
Approved grants will be awarded on a rolling basis until the allocated funds are exhausted.

Step 4: Award and Post-Award Process

Grant Disbursement:
Awarded funds will be disbursed to the faculty member as reimbursement for fees paid.
If the publisher requires partial upfront payment, the faculty member must coordinate with the Library Services office for direct payment.

Reporting Requirements:
Within 6 months of publication, grant recipients must submit a brief report (1–2 pages) detailing:
The outcome of the research publication.
The impact of the grant on their ability to publish and its effect on their research, students, and department.
Any recommendations for improving the grant program?

Depositing in University Repository:
Faculty members must deposit a copy of their published work in the university’s digital repository for open access and institutional visibility. The OER librarian is available to recipients to assist with negotiating with publishers

Timeline of Key Dates:
Application submission: Rolling basis.
Application review: 4–6 weeks
Grant disbursement: Upon approval and invoice submission
Final report submission: Within 6 months of publication
This streamlined process ensures transparency and fairness while allowing faculty to access vital support for their academic publishing endeavors.