The College has a process by which faculty members may request a stipend supplement and/or continuation of fringe benefits in conjunction with applications for prestigious external research fellowships. Faculty must route the stipend supplement request form along with the fellowship application through workflow before submitting the fellowship application to the funding agency. The form will be reviewed by the DEO and the Dean's Office. (Description of the process and links to the workflow request form and the criteria for stipend supplement/fringe benefit support.)

Processing of External Funds in Support of Faculty Leave

Option 1. When the College awards fringe benefits or a stipend supplement to support a faculty member's externally funded leave, the faculty member finds out whether the funding agency will agree to deposit the award into a University account from which the faculty member can be paid. After obtaining this agreement from the funding agency, the DEO or faculty member contacts the Division of Sponsored Programs (100 Gilmore Hall, 335-2123), which will work with the Office of Grant Accounting to set up a special grant account for this purpose. The department then submits the following paperwork:

• a Paid Leave of Absence form, generated using the HR Web Transaction System, changing the faculty member's salary to grant funds or, if the faculty member is receiving a salary supplement, to a split between grants funds and General Fund (050) monies.
• a copy of the fellowship contract showing pay, terms of the fellowship, etc.

Option 2. If the funding agency will not agree to the arrangement above, the award will be paid directly by the agency to the faculty member. The faculty member makes this request in writing to the DEO, attaching a copy of the fellowship contract. The DEO endorses the request and forwards it, with the contract, to Dean Curto, who endorses it and forwards it to the Office of the Provost for final approval. Once the request has been approved at all levels, the department submits the following paperwork:

• a Paid Leave of Absence form reducing the faculty member's salary and specifying in the remarks, "partial leave without pay, to include fringe benefits."

Option 3. If the faculty member does not receive fringe benefits or a stipend supplement to support the leave, he or she must request an unpaid leave of absence from the DEO, who forwards the request to Dean Curto. Once the request is approved, the department submits a Request for Leave of Absence form, specifying leave without pay.

Under IRS regulations, it is not possible for the faculty member or the University to contribute to TIAA/CREF program during an unpaid leave. However, the faculty member may pay to continue other benefits if s/he makes appropriate arrangements in advance through the University Benefits Office (335-2680).

For additional information on leave of absence forms, see CLAS Human Resources — Leave of Absence Forms.