Startup funds are temporary in nature and meant to serve as “seed” funding for new faculty members. Startup funds must be documented in the offer letter and affirmatively approved by the college, and possibly the Provost and Senior Vice President for Research, during the hiring process.
All approved faculty startup funds provided by CALS must be claimed and fully expended within three (3) years of the faculty member's hiring date. Claiming funds is defined as the transfer of college funding to the respective unit account, and fully expended is defined as spent (not just encumbered) in UAccess Financials. CALS startup commitment balances that are not claimed and fully expended are forfeited to the college. Terms of startup funding provided by other entities such as the SVP for Research or BIO5 are separate from this policy and may have different dates of expiration. Unit business staff are instructed to carefully account for and manage all startup commitments to avoid confusion between multiple sources of funding and unnecessary forfeiture of funding.
Requests for extensions of college funding beyond three years may be made in writing to the Executive Council stating the justification, the benefit to research, and the amount of the remaining balance to extend. These requests should be submitted as soon as possible prior to the expiration date of the startup funds. Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and approval of one submission does not necessitate an automatic approval of another submission for the same justification.
Upon approval, CALS will provide 35% of total start-up funds. The remaining 65% will be provided by the Department/School. When creating the Faculty Offer Letter, ensure you are using the approved CALS Start-up Funds Insert, not the Talent verbiage for Start-ups.
A Commitment Sheet is required for All Faculty hires and any hiring that requires funding from the College, Provost, RII or any other department outside the home department. Make sure the Commitment sheet contains any salary splits, start-up funds, moving expenses, or any other funding provided by all involved.
