Maui Sabbatical to Reward MSU Faculty in Creative Fields
Science and Technology

Maui Sabbatical to Reward MSU Faculty in Creative Fields

  • 04 October 2016
  • 2 min read

A tropical paradise serves an ideal setting to renew the creative spirit, and perhaps no greater locale is the Hawaiian Islands. Beginning as early as next spring, select faculty from Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts and the Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences will find themselves amid the palm trees and beaches of Hawaii's second largest island. The Bice Maui Sabbatical has been created as an opportunity to support faculty's work in the arts, humanities, and social sciences to enhance research, artistic endeavors, performance, and teaching.

The sabbatical program is made possible through the generosity of retired physician Dr. Paul Bice, who has offered his Maui home as well as additional funding and provisions for 10-14 days each of the next five years.

"We are thankful to Dr. Bice for this inventive and generous faculty development program," said MSU President Suzanne Shipley. "This is a wonderful opportunity for renewal and research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences."

Faculty members from the two colleges who are interested in participating in the program will be required to submit a one-page description of how the time on Maui will be used to advance them professionally, either in their teaching, creative endeavors, or research. A selection committee will be formed to review the applicants and to determine the recipients.

Bice served as a community advisor for the university's radiologic sciences program for several years, and he is a longtime member of the President's Excellence Circle. "By joining the PEC, I learned more about the opportunities at MSU," said Bice. "I was able to meet students and faculty, hear their stories, and learn how financial aid and grants help them."

Although Bice's discipline was rooted in the sciences, he is passionate about the development of mind through the arts and humanities. "For the people coming to Maui, I want this to serve as inspiration and renewal of their creativity and to be a true respite for artists."