Researcher Compensation
Tenured and tenure track faculty at the University of Memphis
Explaining Extra Compensation
University of Memphis policies encourage faculty to pursue externally funded research. As part of this, you may receive compensation beyond your contracted salary in one of several ways. The most common method of increasing compensation for nine-month faculty is through summer salary. As a research faculty member, you are able to take up to three months (your summer) of effort on Federal grants. This is total across all external funding (grants, contracts, etc).
Limits on Compensation:
Federal Limits: Every federal agency has a different limitation on compensation and effort. In the case of the National Science Foundation, you are limited to two total months of effort across all grants. National Institutes of Health, by contrast, has a salary cap of $212,100 (2022). This means that total compensation of a faculty member on NIH grants cannot exceed this amount. It is in the best interest of a faculty member to diversify their funding source.
University Limits: The University of Memphis recommends that incentive compensation to exceed 50% of the Salary Recovery allocable to the period covered by effort certification.
Salary recovery is the recovery of the direct costs of sponsored programs to the extent possible and consistent with sponsor policies. In instances when faculty or professional responsibilities to the University (effort) are reduced to fulfill the goal(s) within a sponsored-program, the University is entitled to financial reciprocity from the sponsor; in this way, the University does not incur additional costs while faculty or staff participate in sponsored programs.
Explaining Effort
Effort includes the duties described in your contract with the University of Memphis. Generally, this is split between three main categories - research, teaching, and service. Depending on which academic unit you are in, the specific division of these three categories can vary. When applying for externally funded research, your effort for these projects comes from two major sources:
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the portion of your contract assigned for research
- summer salary (for nine-month faculty)
Utilizing the effort assigned for teaching is sometimes made available through a teaching buyout. Teaching buy-outs are negotiated with your department Chair or Dean. UofM policy states that a faculty member is prohibited from buying out more than 90% of their contract. Effort may be fractions of a month, allowing for maximum project involvement. In exceptional circumstances, effort may also be negotiated down after a grant is awarded.
Limits on Effort:
Technically faculty are able to assign 50% of their UofM contracted effort + the summer period (3 months) to externally funded research. In fact, academic units may have additional limitations that restrict you from achieving this full effort allocation. To assure compliance with all guidelines, the University requires you to certify your effort on all grants every year. Note that grants can be declined by the UofM if effort exceeds federal and University policies.