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Request for Proposals 

Payden Teaching Excellence Grants are designed to recognize and support teaching excellence within the College of Media, Communication and Information.  Funded by the Payden Endowment, which was established by CU Boulder Journalism alumnus William Payden to recognize the talents and contributions of teachers, these funds will be used to support requests that further faculty teaching development within CMCI and that encourage collaborative and innovative teaching.  Special consideration will be given to proposals that focus on interdisciplinary teaching/learning or that address issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in teaching/learning.

Grant proposals may request funds to support faculty in launching interdisciplinary courses, developing new courses or significantly re-designing courses to support new pedagogy or enhanced student engagement, as well as to purchase resources such as software, equipment or faculty training that assists faculty as they pursue new approaches to teaching (see below for one training opportunity).  Funds may be requested to support faculty course-release during fall or spring or as summer development salary. Refer to application materials for typically funds available for summer support and appropriate for requested course release.

Faculty interested in applying for Payden Teaching Excellence funds should use the Payden Teaching Excellence Grant Proposal template to apply for an award. The proposal must include information about the nature and scope of the project, anticipated impact of the proposed teaching initiative, how the request furthers faculty members’ ability to achieve teaching excellence, and timeline and budget for completing the project.  Please review the application (link below) for information about typical funding levels for course-release or summer salary.

Tenured, tenure-track and rostered full-time teaching faculty members are eligible to apply. If the proposed project impacts course assignment, request funds for course release, or involves new course development, a statement of support from department chair for each faculty member involved should be included. Please refer to the proposal template for limits on summer development salary requests.  Faculty should typically submit only one Payden grant application per year, although faculty involved in collaborative proposals may submit more than one.  Although faculty may apply for awards in consecutive years, preference will be given to faculty who did not receive an award in the prior year.  Faculty applying to be part of the ACUE Teaching Certification program should indicate this on their application.

Review Process 

Proposals must be submitted by March 14, 2025, to the CMCI Dean’s Office (cmcideansoffice@colorado.edu) and indicate Payden Grant Application in the Subject Line. Applicants must use the Payden Grant Application template.

Proposals will be reviewed by the Payden Teaching Excellence Awards Committee, and award decisions will be made in consultation with the Dean.