Support for Faculty Scholarship
Research Assistants
Each faculty member may hire one or more law students as research assistants to work a total of up to an average of 20 hours per week. For example, a faculty member could hire two students who each work 10 hours a week during the year, or one student who works 10 hours a week in the fall and two students who work 15 hours a week each in the spring. Accreditation standards limit full-time student employment to 20 hours a week.
Research assistants are to help the faculty with scholarly research, not with class preparation or other course work.
When faculty members choose a research assistant, they should notify Donna McMurry of the name and the maximum number of hours the student will be working. Donna will prepare a contract for the student to sign and will assist the student to fill out time sheets to obtain payment.
Research Stipends
Faculty members are eligible to apply for a research stipend if they are not teaching during the summer. With the approval of the Dean, limited exceptions may be made to permit exceptionally productive scholars to both teach and receive a research stipend.
Application dates will be announced, and are usually due in March. The application must include a description of the proposed research project and a report about the completion of work funded by the most recent stipend. Eligibility for a research stipend depends upon satisfactory completion by May 31 of the work funded by the most recent stipend.
Scholarly Article Reprints
Faculty members are encouraged to post their scholarly articles on SSRN in order to facilitate distribution. In addition, faculty members may request from the Dean funds to pay for reprints of their scholarly articles in order to distribute them more widely. The law school generally approves requests for up to 200 reprints. Requests for a larger number may be approved, depending upon the plan submitted for distribution.
