The Endowed Teaching Chair Program

The Delta College Foundation established an Endowed Teaching Chair Program to promote academic quality, recognize excellence in the classroom and encourage faculty to continue to pursue activities that address current educational challenges with creativity, innovation and a sincere concern for facilitating student growth.

The Delta College Foundation originally established the Endowed Teaching Chair (ETC) Program in 1994. The Foundation has funded a variety of projects across campus through the ETC process, which are intended to provide a margin of excellence.   

Dollars can support a wide variety of activities and professional development, such as paying for: equipment, supplies, printing, purchasing books, teaching materials, registration fees, conference fees or travel costs to visit educational sites. It can also be utilized to provide stipends, at the discretion of the selection committee. 

The ETC selection process 

Each winter semester, faculty and/or staff members may submit a proposal for Endowed Teaching Chair funding consideration. Proposals should reflect work to be completed during all or most of an academic (August through April as a minimum for those teaching only fall/winter) or fiscal (July through June) year, with reports of progress submitted at check-points during the duration of the timeline. Projects developed to address the College's Strategic Plan may also be invited to submit for funding.

The Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence (FCTE) board will review all applications.  Then, a team consisting of the President, Vice President of Academics, and the Coordinator/Co-Coordinators of the FCTE will review and make the final award determinations. Formal presentations will not be required as part of this procedure; however, applicants may be invited for an interview or informal presentation to obtain more information and/or the review team may recommend modifications to the proposal. 

The Endowed Teaching Chair amount will be $5,000 annually.  Applications or projects that span a two-year time period may be considered, which would then result in support of $5,000/year for a total of $10,000 for a project.

Application and general criteria

The application is available as an Etrieve form to submit your proposal.  As you plan your project, you should be prepared to answer each of the following questions:  

Project Criteria

1. 1. It is important that your proposed project supports Delta College's strategic plan, including the Pillars, Initiatives, and Action Projects.  Explain how your proposed project will address one of those areas. 
   2. Briefly describe how your project will improve instruction, a high-level process, or benefit students or the larger college community, and whether it can be replicated at scale. 
   3. List the activities and anticipated outcomes from the project. 
   4. Provide an estimated date schedule for completion of the project, in adherence with expectations for completion stated above.  
   5. Provide a line-item budget that details the proposed use of funds for your project.  If you are requesting a stipend payout as a line item in the budget, include a justification for the stipend. 

Career Criteria

1. 1. For each team member, provide a brief description of the individual’s overall contribution toward the achievement of the College mission, vision, and values as relates to his/her/their relevant productive activity and/or professional development.

Attachments

1. 1. Optional, but recommended:  Submit a letter from a relevant supervisor that endorses the value of your proposed project to be able to address a College Strategic Pillar, Initiative, or Action Project.
   2. A budget template has been created in Excel to help you develop your budget.  Download the form here, complete the document, and be sure all of the information is contained within the attached budget.

All applications must be submitted by 4pm on Friday, March 14, 2025, with decisions announced no later than early May. Spending can then occur during the following fiscal year (July–June).

Evaluation and selection 

Applications will be evaluated on the following basis: 

1. 1. Are all of the Project Criteria questions listed above addressed adequately?
   2. Are the Career Criteria questions listed above addressed adequately?
   3. Is there a strong correlation between the proposed project and the criteria of one of the five ETC awards, which are described further below?
   4. Does the application demonstrate an educational benefit to Delta College students, a process,  and/or the larger Delta community? 
   5. Is there evidence that the professional activity/project is feasible as proposed? 
   6. Does the proposal meet timeline requirements?

Prior Endowed Teaching Chair winners are eligible to apply.  If you are requesting a stipend as part of your proposed project, be aware that it will be added to your payroll check and given upon submission of required project reports.

Mid-year and year-end evaluations are required for each project, with information then being summarized and shared with Delta College staff and the Foundation Board of Directors.  It is anticipated that all project participants would be willing to share their experiences and knowledge with other faculty and/or staff members, perhaps at a Learning Days session or Town Hall meeting.

Most recent recipients

There are five (5) different Endowed Teaching Chair awards that are available.  Each one has a slightly different criteria for making the award.  Selection of an applicant for each of the awards will be recommended by the Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence (FCTE) board.  However, you may want to consider the criteria of each one listed below, to see if there is one that more closely matches your proposed work, which may be addressed within your application narrative.