FAS Faculty Research Fund Guidelines
The FAS Faculty Research Fund is an annual allocation that may be made to individual faculty members to support their research and scholarship. Only the Dean of the Faculty, the Dean of the College or Graduate School, or a Divisional Dean may authorize a Faculty Research Fund.
Typically, research funds are awarded for a period of one to three years, subject to renewal by the Dean based on continued scholarly productivity and need.
The expectation of the dean in granting a research fund is not only that it be used to directly fund research expenses (e.g. travel, conference fees, computer equipment and software, publications, and hiring student employees), but also that the funds be used in such a way as to help the faculty member develop external funding to supplement the deans research fund to support his or her research projects.
To that end, any request for renewal must be sent in writing to the appropriate divisional or school dean, accompanied by a description of how the previous allocation was used and what actions were taken to secure other funding sources.
Fiscal Affairs provides faculty members with their own account number. This reduces the cost of administering the funds by allowing the majority of transactions to be issued from the department directly to Accounts Payable and by allowing faculty members to track their own balances.
Because faculty are in the best position to determine how to promote their research, they are free to determine the kinds of expenses to be charged against the account. Although faculty have discretion in choosing among travel, part-time student assistance, journal subscriptions or other expenditures, charges made to the account must meet three conditions:
- The charge must be an expense made to promote the research of the faculty member. The Faculty Research Fund is not intended to support personal expenditures of the faculty member.
- Only expenditures allowed under University guidelines may be charged to a Faculty Research Fund.
- Only expenditures properly processed in accordance with University guidelines may be charged to a Faculty Research Fund.
If any one of the three conditions above is not met, faculty will be personally liable for payment. Faculty should check with their Department/Program Administrator before incurring any expense to ensure that the charge is allowable.
Research funds are allocated to faculty for a specified period of time. Within this period (usually three years), unused funds may be rolled over from year to year. However, any balance remaining at the end of the specified period will revert back to Arts & Science. To renew a Faculty Research Fund, a request should be directed to the appropriate Divisional Dean before the fund expires.
The Faculty Research Fund is intended to provide faculty members with more freedom in administering their funds and make the processing of transactions and reimbursements more efficient. Along with the flexibility and ease of use faculty have in spending their research funds comes the responsibility to review accounts to ensure that transactions are properly recorded and that the balance is correct on a current basis.
Organization Budget Reports (OBRs) are available over the web to the faculty member and Department Administrator through NYU e-Reports. Faculty should take the opportunity to review the charges made to the account. If there appear to be inaccuracies, they should contact their Department Administrator for resolution.
Uses of Faculty Research Funds
Examples of acceptable expenditures are as follows:
- Books, reprints, and subscriptions to academic journals.
- Computer software and hardware: All capital acquisitions remain the property of NYU even if the item is cost-shared with the faculty member's personal funds.
- Research assistants: If a faculty member hires a full-time RA, the student must meet the requirements of the Graduate School of Arts & Science.
- Travel: Faculty must follow the guidelines for University and Sponsored Programs Travel in order to be reimbursed.
- Part-time student employment, including salary and fringe benefits.