Faculty Fellows/Professorships

Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) call for the inaugural SJRC Equity Fellows for the 2025/2026 Academic Year
Eligibility: All Penn State faculty are eligible regardless of appointment type (tenure-line, teaching, clinical, research, etc.), rank, or campus location.
Deadline: January 27, 2025

The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is seeking applications for inaugural SJRC Equity Fellows during the 2025/2026 Academic Year. SJRC Equity Fellows are expected to engage in work, together or individually, that aligns with the mission of SSRI or CTSI.

The purpose of this fellowship is to help support SJRC efforts to foster change in policies and practices towards a culture of inclusive excellence across the University. SJRC Equity Fellows will engage in cross-cutting work that aligns with our Penn State values, strategic plan, and aligns with the mission of the institutes. This work can take various forms, shaped by the goals and background of the Fellow.

Course releases for mentored, new interdisciplinary projects to build a novel line of sustainable research
Eligibility: PSU social and behavioral science faculty
Financial support range: Up to 16,000

The SSRI Mentored Faculty Fellows Program supports the career development of Penn State early career faculty to train in a new area of research and/or to develop new interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at building sustainable research and securing external funding.

Eligibility: Full-time University faculty members, employees, post-doctoral scholars, and fellows, and/or full-time graduate students or medical students enrolled at the University.
Financial support range: based on the available endowment income

We seek proposals for novel research focused on important health issues facing mankind. The Lloyd Prize is funded by an endowment established by Dr. Tom Lloyd who served on the faculty of the College of Medicine for 46 years.

Eligibility: Full-time University faculty members, employees, post-doctoral scholars, and fellows, and/or full-time graduate students or medical students enrolled at the University. This competitive prize rotates through the following colleges at the University, with the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing taking place in 2025. Subsequent years will be the College of Health and Human Development, Eberly College of Science, College of Engineering, College of Information Sciences and Technology, College of the Liberal Arts, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and College of Medicine. The recipient of the award must plan to be employed/enrolled at Penn State for the duration of the research project.

Funding: The selected recipient will receive a prize based on the available endowment income. Sixty percent (60%) of the available funds can be provided either through payroll or placed in a protected research account. An additional thirty percent (30%) of available endowment income will be placed in a protected research account.

Professorship focused on developing research focused on relationships between the human brain and human behavior (psychological and brain science)
Eligibility: Penn State faculty who are within 10 years of having completed the Ph.D. at the start of the award period
Financial support range: up to $20,000 per year for 3 years

This Professorship will allow expenditures related to salary supplementation of the PI (to include course release for the PI during a semester of grant writing),  education and travel expense, research and support services expense and support for students who are assisting the PI.