Contacts
Division of Research
Edinburg Campus
Email: research@utrgv.edu
ESSBL 5.110
Phone: (956) 665-3883
Fax: (956) 665-2940
Brownsville Campus
BBRHB 2.210
Email:research@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1549
Fax: (956) 882-6810
Faculty Incentive Program
Significant increases in total external grant funding, total research expenditure, and restricted research expenditure are critical for UTRGV’s national recognition, and in its quest for the Emerging Research University status. To encourage and reward faculty for their efforts in bringing competitive grant funding to UTRGV, this new, one-of-a-kind Faculty Grant Award Incentive Program has been established by the Division of Research. This incentive program will remain in effect for five years starting FY 2018-19. The program’s effectiveness and sustainability will be assessed after five years from inception to determine whether the program shall continue.
Under this incentive program, successful principal investigators (PI) or teams of co-principal investigators (co-PIs) are provided a permanent adjustment to the academic base salary equal to 0.5% of the total grant amount, up to maximum of $5,000 in a year. In case of a grant with a team of co-PIs, the 0.5% incentive amount calculated based on the total grant amount is split among all the co-PIs based on % contribution to the project.
All faculty, including those serving in part-time administrative roles such as department chairs, associate deans, etc., are eligible. Faculty who are not eligible for tenure and have a one-year contract but are formally approved by the EVP for Research to serve as PIs/co-PIs on external grant proposals are also eligible. Full-time administrators such as deans, vice presidents, executive vice presidents, etc. are not eligible.
All new grant awards of $25,000 or over initiated in a particular fiscal year (September 1 to August 31) are eligible in a given year. Grant awards received at other institutions that include UTRGV faculty as co-PIs are also eligible, but the incentive will be based on the actual grant amount received by UTRGV. Grants with multiple year budgets are eligible for the incentive award (based on the total multi-year award amount) only once in the year the project gets initiated.
Multiple grant awards received and initiated in a single fiscal year will be combined to determine the total incentive awarded to a PI/Co-PI for the year, with a total annual adjustment limit of $5,000. Incentive amount calculations and adjustments to the academic base salary resulting from the incentive awards from the entire year will be calculated at the end of each fiscal year, and the adjustment will be applied on September 1. Adjusted salary will reflect in the October 1 paycheck.
