Sharpe Professor for Civic Renewal and Entrepreneurship
The Sharpe Professor of Civic Renewal and Entrepreneurship was established through a generous gift from Jane A. Sharpe and the late Robert F. Sharpe. This professorship supports teaching with Community-based Learning and Research, reinforcing W&M’s commitment to innovative teaching and research that integrates community engagement with academic study. This professorship is awarded for a three-year term and is not renewable.
We are no longer accepting applications for the Sharpe Professorship. The next application cycle will open in Fall 2026. In the meantime, please contact [[charlescenter]] for more information about this opportunity.
The Sharpe Professorship terms, conditions, and proposal process are outlined as follows:
Eligibility:
Tenured A&S faculty, and those who expect to be tenured by Fall 2023, may apply.
Responsibilities:
The Sharpe appointee will be responsible for teaching a COLL 100 or 150 (approved by EPC) each fall and mentoring students in faculty-designed, community-engaged scholarship in the spring:
1) The COLL 100 or 150 must incorporate a pedagogy of community-based learning/research to be taught in the Sharpe Community Scholars Program. The course may be offered in the appointee’s home department or under Interdisciplinary Studies;
2) The community-engaged scholarship experience must offer select scholars an opportunity to engage communities meaningfully through applied learning and research, as aligned with the appointee's field or discipline for public scholarship.
Support:
The following support is available to the appointee:
- $5,000 as an annual salary stipend.
- $3,000 annually for faculty professional expenses, including research and conference travel.
- up to $10,000 annually to support Sharpe course-related expenses and/or community-based
research efforts involving Sharpe Scholars, contingent upon submission of an annual
proposal and approval by the Charles Center Director in consultation with the Sharpe
Program Director.
Sharpe Proposal process:
Interested faculty members should submit a CV, a proposal, and a brief endorsement from the applicant’s department chair or program director. The proposal should describe the project or projects that would be supported by the $10,000 annual allocation over the three years of the professorship and must be no more than 3 pages in length. The proposal packet should be combined as a single PDF file consisting of the proposal, endorsement letter and CV.
The CFAPP review committee will make recommendations to the Sharpe Program Director, the Director of the Charles Center, and the Dean of Arts & Sciences, who are responsible for the final selection.
We are no longer accepting applications for the Sharpe Professorship. The next application cycle will open in Fall 2026. In the meantime, please contact [[charlescenter]] for more information about this opportunity.
