The Bridging Fellowship Program is a University-wide program that supports members of the University faculties in interdisciplinary study. Specifically, the program releases members from departmental obligations for one semester to allow them to move to another part of the University for the purpose of learning aspects of another discipline. Typically, the University has no more than four Bridging Fellows in a given academic year.
Eastman faculty have been successful in obtaining Bridging Fellowships over several years, and we have also hosted Bridging Fellows from other schools of the University. For your information, a list of the previous Fellows is included at the bottom of this page, with their home department and their Bridging Fellow department/school.
The University’s Faculty Handbook provides the following general information on Bridging Fellowships (pp. 52):
Bridging Fellowships are arrangements whereby a faculty member spends a period, usually a semester, in a department other than their own. The other department is often in another school but is always in the University of Rochester. The distinctive feature of Bridging Fellowships is that they are for study in an area that is peripheral to the fellow’s central professional concern, and they permit the acquisition of knowledge and methods in a different field. These fellowships are thus distinct from academic leaves, and holding a Bridging Fellowship does not affect subsequent consideration for such leaves.
The dean’s or director’s office of each school generally solicits applications once a year. Completed applications require the approval of the applicant’s chair before being submitted to the dean for final approval. For an untenured faculty member, a Bridging Fellowship does not delay a tenure decision even when combined with a one-semester leave.
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The specific steps to take in applying for a Bridging Fellowship are:
- Design a Bridging Fellowship proposal for a semester of study in a department and/or school other than your own. Engage with faculty members in that department as you develop your ideas, and solicit endorsements for your proposal from them, from their department chair, and from the dean of that school.
- Submit your Bridging Fellowship proposal to your Eastman department chair by September 6. Your application must include the endorsement letters from the hosting faculty member, department, and school.
- Your Eastman department chair will review the application and forward the materials, with the completed recommendation form, to the Associate Dean by September 27.
- The Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs will consult with the Dean and forward approved materials to the Provost for final review. Fellows will be notified in the spring semester of their acceptance. Following completion of the Bridging Fellowship semester, the Bridging Fellow is expected to provide a written report of the experience, including goals, activities, and outcomes of the collaboration. This report should be sent to the department chair and the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs.
Bridging Fellowship Application – Part I Applicant
Bridging Fellowship Application – Part II Chair Recommendation
PREVIOUS EASTMAN BRIDGING FELLOWS
John Kapusta (MUY) to History, Spring 22
Michael Anderson (MUY) to the Simon School of Business, Fall 19
Melina Esse (MUY) to the College Dance and Movement Program, Fall 18
Jonathan Baldo (HUM) to U of R Humanities Center, Spring 18
Davey Temperley (TH) to Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Fall 09
Reinhild Steingrover (HUM) to English and Eastman Museum of Photography and Film, Fall 08
Harold Danko (JCM) to Linguistics, 1/2 time full year 06-07
Patrick Macey (MUY) to History, Fall 06
Donna Brink Fox (MUE) to Simon Graduate School of Business, Spring 06
Elizabeth West Marvin (TH) to Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Fall 04
Ellen Koskoff (MUY) to Anthropology, Spring 04
Steve Laitz (TH) to Chamber Music (ESM), Spring 02
Ernestine McHugh (HUM) to Musicology, Spring 01
Ciro Scotto (TH) to Mathematics, Spring 01
Gretchen Wheelock (MUY) to Visual & Cultural Studies, Spring 00
Jean Pedersen (HUM) to Visual & Cultural Studies, Fall 99
Timothy Scheie (HUM) to Musicology, Spring 98
Robert Morris (CMP) to Religion & Classics, Fall 97
Robert Wason (TH) to Modern Languages & Culture, Spring 97
David Headlam (TH) to Electrical Engineering, Spring 96
Louis Bergonzi (MUE) to Public Policy Analysis, Fall 94
Elizabeth West Marvin (TH) to Psychology, Spring 93
Jonathan Baldo (HUM) to Musicology, Spring 91
Ralph Locke ((HUM) to Art History, Spring 91
John McGowan (HUM to Philosophy, Spring 90
Douglas Dempster (HUM) to Music Theory, Fall 87
Revised, July 2024