UNIT 18 FACULTY
As part of the current collective bargaining agreement between the University and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), each UC campus has provided a Professional Development Fund Pool for Unit 18 faculty covered by the agreement. All Unit 18 faculty appointees with a current appointment during the 2025-2026 academic year are eligible to apply for the 2025-2026 academic year awards at the Irvine campus. Please note that the Vice Provost for Academic Personnel has final approval over all awards.
Information concerning the types of awards, award criteria, and the award application can be found on the Academic Personnel website, https://ap.uci.edu/programs/lecturer-professional-development-funds/.
I also want to bring your attention to the following important details:
- Funding for this program is limited, and the anticipated demand may exceed our ability to fund all proposals; therefore, the dean is encouraged to provide realistic rankings of requests.
- The Fund Pool includes a total of $59,565 which includes the 2025-26 allocation and any unused 2024-25 funds.
- Funding awarded in the application year 2025-26 must be used by June 30, 2027.
- When submitting the proposal to Academic Personnel, please include both the dean and department chair’s signature on the application. This ensures that both individuals have seen all proposals and have had a chance to rank them according to the criteria. Deans and chairs are encouraged to add comments and recommendations as appropriate.
Application Deadlines: January 16, 2026 Due to the Dean’s Office
January 30, 2026 Due to Academic Personnel
2025-26 UC-AFT Council on Professional Development Council Members:
- Gina Ruggiero, Chair, Department of Global Language and Communications
- Jody Guarino, School of Education
- Jon-Eric Tateri, Samueli School of Engineering
- Julie Kim, Department of Sociology
- Lingwen Huang, Paul Merage School of Business
If you have any questions, please contact Kristyanne Emick at crosbykm@uci.edu.
Sincerely,
Gillian R. Hayes
Vice Provost for Academic Personnel