Seattle Pacific University shows its concern for faculty development by providing a program of faculty development, specific components of which are described in the following sections.

The sabbatical for professional renewal has historically been deemed essential to the intellectual and academic quality of faculty members and the whole University. This privilege allows a faculty member to do research and writing, to pursue a scholarly interest, or otherwise to improve professionally. It is understood that the sabbatical opportunity for professional renewal is an earned privilege and not a right of every faculty member.

A full-time faculty member who has attained the rank of assistant professor or higher is eligible for a sabbatical leave after each five years of full-time service at Seattle Pacific University (for calculating eligibility of fractional loads of .75 or greater, see Section 6.2). Unused eligibility accumulates. Service to the University under contracts issued or overload contracts do not accrue toward time qualifications for sabbatical, nor do leaves of absence. The following options are available to those who qualify:

1. The applicant may request a sabbatical with full salary for one quarter's duration or one-half salary for two quarters,
2. An individual who has accumulated 10 years full-time service at Seattle Pacific, and has attained the rank of assistant professor or above, may apply to receive full salary for a sabbatical leave of two quarters' duration. Individuals who qualify for two quarters of sabbatical but are awarded only one will be considered on equal terms with other applicants in subsequent years.

The recipient shall not accept employment during a sabbatical leave without prior approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who may request advice from the Faculty Status Committee.

Upon returning to the University, the recipient shall submit a written report to the President of the University, through the school dean, the Faculty Status Committee, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, describing the faculty member's activities and accomplishments during the sabbatical leave.

The recipient is obligated to return to SPU for at least one full academic year subsequent to the leave. Anyone who fails to do so shall repay the entire amount of salary received while on leave.

Application forms are available in the Academic Affairs office. The deadline date for sabbatical applications is published annually in the academic calendar. On or before the deadline, the applicant will present an acceptable project, approved by the dean, to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Vice President for Academic Affairs, if the application is recommended by the Faculty Status Committee, shall make recommendation to the President. Subsequent changes in the sabbatical project must be negotiated with the Faculty Status Committee and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Recommendations of the Faculty Status Committee concerning applications for sabbatical will be based on institutional need, individual need, and the merits of the proposal.

Institutional need may be identified through one or more of the following objectives, which the Faculty Status Committee shall consider in order of priority:

1. updating or increasing the faculty member's teaching effectiveness,
2. enlarging the applicant's contacts within the discipline or the profession through scholarship, research, and/or writing,
3. enhancing the institution's reputation, or
4. completing the applicant's degree requirements.

Individual need may be for one or more of the following, which Faculty Status Committee shall consider in order of priority:

1. to engage in professional activities such as scholarship, research, and/or writing,
2. to update or increase teaching effectiveness,
3. to complete degree requirements, or
4. to satisfy need for renewal and refreshment.

Merits of the proposal shall be determined by the following, which the Faculty Status Committee shall consider in the following order: first, eligibility and length of service since the previous sabbatical or leave; then, all other items taken together:

1. eligibility and length of service as specified in Section 10.1.2,
2. care and thought put into the proposal, as shown by presence of sufficient details for evaluation and realistic appraisal of problems involved,
3. feasibility of the proposed program (as indicated by the proposal or other information) and probability that the proposal will be carried out,
4. desirability of the proposed program for the individual,
5. apparent appropriateness of, or benefit to be derived from, the proposal by the University,
6. fairness to the individual and the institution, and
7. benefits to be derived from length of service following the sabbatical.

As an added inducement for faculty members to complete their doctoral programs, a leave of one quarter may be awarded with full salary, subject to the following conditions:

1. seven consecutive years as a full-time faculty member at SPU;
2. rank of instructor or higher at time of application;
3. the leave is devoted to an approved program of graduate studies leading to the doctorate.
4. the individual agrees to return to the SPU faculty for at least one academic year.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs annually budgets funds to each school to assist faculty in attending and participating in professional association conferences, workshops and institutes.

Applications for travel assistance are made to the dean, who authorizes disbursement in accordance with policies developed in the school.

Each school's procedures shall include consideration for the following roles and factors taken as a group:

1. officers of associations,
2. participants in institutes and short courses,
3. presenters of papers and participants in association programs,
4. representatives of the University at accreditation or institutional membership associations,
5. untenured persons and those whose case for promotion may be enhanced by participation in professional associations, and
6. those who may have been temporarily inactive in professional associations but who give evidence that they intend to increase their participation.

Each school's procedures will require reports, which may include, as appropriate, a written report and/or critique of the event, a summary for the Faculty-Staff Bulletin, and/or dissemination to other members of the University community.

To encourage faculty participation in professional associations, the University annually provides a stipend for each full-time faculty for membership fees. Deans must budget for this expense and sign authorization for payment. Authorization for payment must be accompanied by receipts or invoices for professional dues.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs in consultation with the Vice President of Business and Planning may make funds available to faculty to assist them toward fulfillment of professional development activity. These forgivable loans are awarded on a note signature basis and are redeemable through completion of a stipulated amount of continued service to the University (in which case they become reportable as taxable income). Applications are made directly to the dean.

In order to encourage development of more effective teaching and learning strategies, the University annually provides funds for academic renewal grants (ARGs). The grants support replacement faculty or overload contracts, learning resources, and administrative and consultant support. The Dean’s Cabinet establishes criteria and guidelines each year and identifies application deadlines which are published in the academic calendar. Applications and guidelines are available from the dean.

In conjunction with one of the standing committees of the faculty, the office of Vice President for Academic Affairs administers a modest budget to assist original research by faculty on subjects related to the mission and programs of the University, and to assist projects for which external funding is generally not available. Guidelines and applications for Faculty Research Grants are available from the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Application deadlines are published in the academic calendar.

Through an anonymous source of supporting endowment, the Board of Trustees has established the Winifred E. Weter Faculty Award Lecture for meritorious scholarship, in recognition of the forty years of scholarship which Dr. Winifred Weter, Emerita Professor of Classics, provided the University. The lectureship provides a public platform from which theclaims of the liberal arts in the Christian university may be espoused. Each Weter award lecturer receives an honorarium and authority to wear, at formal academic events, a medallion symbolizing the honor. Proposals are reviewed by the Faculty Status Committee in May and the lecture is held in the spring quarter of the following year. Exact dates and deadlines are published annually in the University calendar.

In selecting the lecturer, the Faculty Status Committee employs these guidelines:

1. the proposal should show that the main ideas have been examined in sufficient detail so that only an elaboration of them remains. The thesis of the lecture should be clearly stated in the proposal,
2. ideas to be presented should be original in content or in relation to one another; there must be novelty in content or in insight or in both,
3. the lecture should not be a repetition of a previous paper or address,
4. the lecture should be a "showcase" for scholarship informed by a Christian worldview and for the value of the liberal arts as a whole, or of a discipline of the liberal arts, to the community of Christian believers,
5. the lecture should be appropriate for an audience of generallyeducated persons, including students, yet should have insights, interpretations, and perspectives of interest to listeners in the discipline of the proposer,
6. the lecture is not limited to spoken presentation; it may involve other media of expression appropriate to the lecturer and the subject, and
7. candidacy for the lecture is limited to full-time faculty.

A 10-week seminar is required for newly hired tenure-track faculty each year. The seminar provides faculty the opportunity to reflect on the distinctive feature of Christian higher education, namely the integration of faith and learning. In addition, participants will explore and discuss the special heritage and mission of Seattle Pacific University. This seminar is a part of the overall commitment by the University to spiritual formation. Release time is given to allow faculty adequate time to participate in the seminar.

This Committee provides general information to faculty on topics related to teaching in higher education, serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas on teaching, and provides individual assistance to faculty members upon request.

Courses in various topics of theological significance--biblical studies, theological topics, integration of faith and disciplines--are offered periodically. These courses are described in the Faculty-Staff Bulletin and are offered at no cost to all faculty on a first-come basis.

full-time faculty member may personally enroll in up to five quarter credits of course work per term, including summer term, at no personal tuition expense. For the summer term the five credits shall be considered to apply to the sum of all courses taken in all summer session activities. Credits above five per term will receive a 45% or 90% discount. As part of an approved professional development program, some courses offered may be included in this benefit.

For additional information about these benefits, please see the current Benefits Handbook.

Faculty members interested in pursuing special study or research are encouraged to apply for research funds and/or grants. The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs communicates descriptions of grant resources through deans to the faculty.

PPersons interested in applying for grants should indicate that interest to the appropriate dean. The application must be initiated and drafted by the interested faculty member, recommended by the dean and approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.