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Assistance for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members and for Unemployed Members Traveling to the 2008 Convention
The Executive Council has voted to allot funds to provide partial travel reimbursement of $300 to non-tenure-track faculty members and those without employment to attend the 2008 convention in San Francisco. To be eligible, applicants must have been members of the MLA by 30 June 2007 and must be nonstudent members of the MLA by 30 June 2008. They must be non-tenure-track faculty members or be unemployed. Their income must place them in one of the three lowest income ranges in the dues schedule. Funds are available to cover up to 150 awards; if more members apply, priority will be given to applicants who have not received a grant, including a graduate student travel grant, in the previous five years. If necessary, recipients will be selected in a random manner. Eligible applicants not selected in 2008 will be given priority in 2009, provided they still meet the eligibility requirements.
To apply by mail, members should send their contact information along with a brief statement stipulating that they are non-tenure-track faculty members or are unemployed. A change in income range or in student, faculty, or unemployment status since membership renewal should be noted in the application. Mail applications by 1 November 2008 to the Office of Special Projects at the MLA office or fax them to 646 835-4067. Fax transmissions may be used to meet the deadline, but they must be followed by signed applications. (Applications by e-mail will not be accepted.) As part of the application process, members must request matching funds from their departments or institutions by using a letter provided by the MLA (available here  ). The council wants to make institutions aware of the importance of supporting all instructional staff members in their professional development activities. The institution's response must be presented when grant recipients pick up their checks at the convention, even if no matching funds are granted.
Since 1997, the Executive Council has invited MLA members to donate money to a professional education assistance fund that will provide ongoing support for these travel reimbursements. A space on the membership renewal form allows members to add to their dues payments a tax-deductible contribution to the fund.
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