CALS Faculty Salary Returns Policy

Effective July 1, 2025

Rationale

Faculty salaries are collegiate expenses and are funded by the college base budget (e.g. 101).  There are several situations that can result in a faculty member’s salary coming from a source other than their original 101-budgeted salary dollars. In cases where these sources replace existing 101 salary support, it may generate “salary savings”. With restrictions on uses of 101 salary dollars, to ensure that campus 101-budgeted salary dollars are used true to their intent, and to retain funds for college expenses associated with our educational and research missions, it is essential to make clear guidance on what the resulting salary savings can and cannot be used for and in what cases some of the salary savings would be allocated to the department.

The purpose of this policy is to create a fair, equitable, and transparent policy for salary savings generated through different mechanisms to ensure that all faculty and departments are treated the same. This policy covers faculty salary savings generated through professorships or leadership/service. Research-funded salary buyout is not covered within the scope of this policy. Faculty instructional buyouts are covered by CALS-1010 College of Agricultural & Life Sciences – Faculty Buyout of Teaching.

Scope

This policy applies to both tenured and tenure-track faculty members generating salary savings.

Policy

Faculty are responsible for complying with all university and sponsor policies pertaining to effort commitments: salary charged to a sponsored project must be allocable and align with activity on the project.

Sources of Faculty Salary Savings determines the options:

1. Professorships
   1. Professorships come from donors to partially cover salary and provide the faculty member with flexible funds (Naming Opportunities Guidelines, p. 8-9). For any Endowment of $1M or more, at least 50% (50% to 66%) of the annual distribution should be used towards recipient’s salary per the guidelines above.
      1. For Professorships administered by the department
         1. 50% of salary savings generated by professorships will remain with the college and 50% will be passed to the department.
         2. Salary savings returned to the department must be used within the fiscal year and cannot be used to pay the salary of anyone (faculty, staff, or students) other than the faculty generating the salary savings (i.e. summer salary for 9-month appointment). Salary savings will be returned in a type that can be used for supplies, travel, and other non-salary expenses (except tuition).
      2. For Professorships administered by the college 100% of salary savings generated by professorships shall remain with the college.
2. Base salary buy-out for leadership, service, or other effort (e.g. center faculty director)
   1. Salary savings generated by leadership or service buyout will remain with the college.
   2. If teaching effort is bought out by the college to permit leadership or service efforts, the department can request that partial salary savings be passed to the department to cover the teaching commitment.
      1. The request must include a justification, planned coverage, and cost.
      2. Requests for salary savings returns must be made by the department chair to the associate dean for faculty affairs.
      3. General faculty-initiated buyout of teaching is outlined in CALS-1010 College of Agricultural & Life Sciences – Faculty Buyout of Teaching. 
      4. If partial salary savings are approved to cover the teaching commitment, they will be returned to the department as a funding type that can be used for appropriate salaries.