Sabbaticals

Full-time tenured faculty members and librarians of Whittier College are eligible for a sabbatical leave upon completion of six years full-time service at the College. Eligibility includes all the years of full-time service at Whittier, including the years prior to the granting of tenure. After this period of time, faculty members are eligible for sabbatical leaves every seven years and librarians are eligible for sabbatical leaves in summer months every four years. Staff interested in applying for a sabbatical leave should contact the Dean of Faculty's Office as soon as possible.

Sabbatical Policies

  • A sabbatical leave is to be used for generally acceptable purposes of professional advancement such as research, writing, and educational travel.
  • Normally a sabbatical leave shall not be used to accept another paying position, academic or otherwise. Exceptions must be approved by the Professional Interests Committee and the Dean of Faculty. This is not to be construed as prohibiting the acceptance of a grant for the support of academic endeavors.
  • If it deems necessary, the administration may request that a faculty member postpone a sabbatical for up to one year. If the faculty member agrees, the postponement will not delay the scheduled dates of any subsequent sabbaticals.
  • A faculty member may choose to postpone a sabbatical for up to two years without delaying the scheduled dates of any subsequent sabbaticals with the approval of the Professional Interests Committee. The request for postponement must be made during the academic year preceding the year for which the sabbatical leave was originally scheduled.
  • Sabbatical leaves are granted in terms of one of the following two options: (1) half salary for one full academic year with no teaching load; or (2) full salary and a normal one semester teaching load over one year, distributed as desired by the faculty member (for example, a one semester leave or one full year of half-time teaching).
  • Within six months of completion of a sabbatical leave, the faculty member is to submit to the Professional Interests Committee and the Dean of Faculty a statement summarizing all sabbatical activities.