Senate Funding Opportunities

Supplemental Travel Award

The Supplemental Travel Award is postponed until an application process can be established.

To assist faculty in pursuing their professional development goals, the AS offers supplemental funds for faculty who wish to attend a conference in their discipline. These supplemental funds would be used only if the faculty member has exhausted their professional development funds.  Visit the Professional Development website to learn more > 

Application guidelines, deadlines, forms, and procedures are the same as for Long Term Professional Development projects.

Most years, the Academic Senate’s total fund for all supplemental travel is capped at $2,100

For information about the current supplemental travel award, contact Cañada Academic Senate (canacademicsenate@smccd.edu). 

 

First Year Tenure-Track Faculty Professional Development Award

For 1st-year tenure-track faculty, Academic Senate can provide up to $300 per person per academic year toward conference expenses, since these faculty are ineligible for Professional Development funds. 

Contact Cañada Academic Senate (canacademicsenate@smccd.edu) to apply. Include the name of the conference, date of the conference, and amount requesting.

Speaker Honorarium Fund

To provide students with up-to-date information and different perspectives in classroom lectures, the AS offers funds for honoraria granted to guest lecturers in regularly scheduled classes. For the 2026-2027 Academic year, faculty may request $200 toward Speaker Honorarium twice per fiscal year. Most years, the Speaker Honorarium award is not to exceed $2,000 (about 10 speakers a year).

For information about the current Speaker honorarium award, contact Cañada Academic Senate (canacademicsenate@smccd.edu). 

The application will include the following information:   

  • Explain the value of the guest lecture to the students, and what specific experience or specialized skills the guest lecturer will bring to campus
  • Is the lecture for registered students only, or will it be open to the public?  If open, will it be publicized?
  • Will it benefit multiple sections of a class or multiple classes?
  • Identify the requested amount (up to $200)
  • Please note that the selection of guest speakers must comply with Board Policy 6.38 Criteria for Selection of Guest Speakers

Application Process:

The instructor of record will email the application to Cañada Academic Senate (canacademicsenate@smccd.edu). The details will be agendized at a regular Academic Senate meeting where Academic Senate will vote on whether to award the honorarium.