The Office of Campus Outreach Initiatives has at least $150,000 for Faculty Outreach Grants (FOG) this academic year, “and possibly more,” depending on the final budget, said Joe Castro, executive director of the unit, which serves as the operational arm of the Chancellor’s Outreach Advisory Board.

This money will fund faculty- or staff-inspired programs that serve “critical educational needs of our regional K-12 students” in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and help increase the diversity of UCSB’s students, explained Castro. Increasing faculty engagement with partner schools is another important goal of the grants.

Proposals for FOG-supported activities, which may be on a one-time or continuing (multi-year) basis, are due by 5 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2006. The projects may start as early as next April 1 or as late as Sept. 1, according to the application procedures.

Application details or questions can be addressed to Castro at x3105, or at joe.castro@coi.ucsb.edu. His assistant, Claudia Martinez (x8123), can also help.

Award-winning proposals will be announced by March 10, according to Ken Millett and Claudine Michel, faculty chairs of the advisory board and its FOG committee, respectively. “It is anticipated that project awards will range from $2,000 to $20,000,” they added, though a justified project of up to $40,000 would be considered.

Though campus department and program staff, as well as faculty, are encouraged to apply, the primary investigator “must be a member of the Academic Senate at UCSB,” state the FOG eligibility criteria.