Wig Fund for Teaching
Grants for Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Teaching
Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Wig established the "Distinguished Professorship Endowment Fund" in 1955 to further the teaching mission of the College. This fund is used to support the Wig Distinguished Professorship awards, to help subsidize sabbatical salaries, and to facilitate the biannual trustee-faculty retreat. The fund supports several student academic centers, and it is also used to support pedagogical and curricular innovation through grants for course development, teaching innovation, and attendance at teaching conferences. These grants are available to all faculty and full-time faculty on multiyear and continuing contracts.
Please note that ongoing and regular expenses associated with a class should be covered by departmental or program budgets. Wig grants are for one-time costs associated with teaching, developing a new course, extensively revising an old course, or making innovations in an existing course.
For information about Wig grants, please contact tara.dybas@pomona.edu.
Teaching Innovation Grants
Grants up to $1,000 are available throughout the year to enhance the teaching of a particular course. This fund is meant to cover curricular needs that are unexpected and therefore cannot be met within a departmental budget or through application for a Curriculum Development Grant. Items that have been funded in the past include books, honoraria/meals/lodging for in-class speakers, films, computer software, and student assistants.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the academic year. Please fill out an application for a Teaching Innovation Grant.
Travel to Teaching Conferences
Grants up to $2,000 are available to cover costs for conferences specifically focused on pedagogy or curriculum development. While one might argue that any professional conference may help improve one's teaching, attendance at research conferences or annual professional meetings are usually not funded unless there is a particular focus on teaching.
Allowable expenses include the registration fee, ground and air travel, lodging, and meals while traveling.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the academic year. Please fill out an application for a Travel To Teaching Conferences Grant.
Curriculum Development Grants
AY26-27 Application Window: February 16, 2026 - April 3, 2026
AY 26-27 Awards become effective July 1, 2026 and must be spent by June 30, 2027.
Grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 are awarded by the Teaching & Learning Committee for the development or substantial redesign of courses. These grants are meant to reimburse faculty for supplies and materials such as books, videos, and software (up to $500); student assistants (up to $1000); course-related travel for the applicant (up to $1,000); and conference, workshop, or training registration fees related to preparation for the course (up to $500). If you're applying for a grant that is less than $1,000, please apply instead for a Teaching Innovation Grant.
The Teaching & Learning Committee gives priority to faculty who will be developing new courses or substantially redesigning existing ones, to faculty who have not received Wig funds for course development in the preceding two years, and to junior faculty.
Please submit proposals through the Curriculum Development Grant application during the open application period noted above. Applicants should indicate if they have received a Wig grant in the past two years and, if so, the curricular results. The Teaching & Learning Committee will review the proposals in April, and awardees will be notified after Pomona College Board of Trustees approval in May.
Application deadline: April 3, 2026. Applications not accepted after this date.
Hahn Teaching with Technology Grants
Please visit the Hahn Teaching with Technology Program website for more information.