4.5 Sabbatical Leaves
To the extent that the resources permit, Kenyon College grants sabbatical leaves to tenured members of the faculty. The primary purpose of a sabbatical leave is to provide an opportunity for professional development.
Such leaves are granted, at the option of the member, either for one semester at full salary or for two consecutive semesters at one-half salary.
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4.5.1 Eligibility
(approved February 1989)
Tenured faculty members holding a full-time teaching appointment in an academic department become eligible for a first sabbatical leave when they have completed seven years of continuous service to the College, which may include up to one full year of leave of absence considered in direct service to the College. (See section 4.4.) When, in the judgment of the College, a leave is not in direct service to the College, the time of absence will not be credited toward a sabbatical leave. Tenured faculty members become eligible for subsequent sabbatical leaves in each seventh year thereafter, assuming continuous service as described above. Normally, at least two consecutive semesters of full-time teaching at Kenyon must immediately precede the beginning of each sabbatical leave.
Ordinarily, faculty members take sabbatical leaves when eligible, but they may be postponed or taken early when staffing needs and personal circumstances warrant and both the College and the faculty member agree. The College may require a leave to be postponed for no more than one year. Faculty members may postpone a leave for a year or more only with the approval of the department and the College. In cases of postponement of the leave, the dates of eligibility for subsequent sabbatical leaves will be calculated from the year of regular eligibility.
4.5.2 The Sabbatical Project
A faculty member who is granted a sabbatical leave may use it in a variety of ways (e.g., for study, research, publication, and travel relevant to those activities); however, the College has established the following procedure to assist the faculty member in identifying an appropriate sabbatical project.
Members should notify the Provost of their intention to apply for a sabbatical leave no later than May, fourteen months before the year in which they plan to take the leave. At that time a statement of the project to be undertaken during the leave should be discussed with the Provost and the department chair. The purpose of these discussions is to give the member an opportunity to receive comments that might strengthen the project. In light of these discussions and further reflection, the member submits a formal statement of the sabbatical project before September 15 of the following academic year. The Provost will consider this application and present it to the Board of Trustees at their October meeting. The Provost will notify the member of their action.
The member should investigate the possibilities for outside funding and begin to prepare the appropriate applications. The College understands that the length of the leave may depend upon the amount of outside funding secured and that decisions about the granting of such funding may not be made until the spring prior to the year in which the leave is to be undertaken. As soon as information about these decisions is available and arrangements for the leave are completed, the member should confirm the length of the leave with the Provost.
After returning from a sabbatical leave, the member must submit a report to the Provost summarizing the activities undertaken during the leave. The member is also encouraged to make a public presentation of the results or benefits of the leave (e.g., by lecture, exhibit, or performance). Acceptance of a sabbatical leave carries with it the obligation to return for service at the College.