Professional Development and Travel Support

Basic Professional Development and Travel Support

Library Faculty and Academic Professionals are provided an annual allocation to support conference travel and professional development activities. For FY 2024, these amounts are $2,500 for Tenure Track Assistant Professors and Visiting Faculty, and $2,000 for Tenured Faculty, Clinical Faculty, Research Faculty and Academic Professionals. Additional funding is sometimes possible through discretionary administrative funds, (please work with the appropriate AUL/Director to request) or campus programs such as the Scholar’s Travel Fund. Some civil service positions with research activities are also eligible for professional development funding. Please check with Library HR if you are unsure of your status.

There are also opportunities for any Civil Service employee to obtain professional development and travel support. Examples include applying for ALA or Reaching Forward South conference attendance through the Library Staff Support Committee (LSSC) or working through unit heads and appropriate AUL/Director to present a paper, etc. Civil Service employee professional development and travel allocations are made for specific amounts depending on the circumstances.

All requests for support must be submitted no less than three days prior to the start of the event, and earlier is often necessary for all the necessary approvals and procedures to take place. In order to ensure that activities that are beneficial to both you professionally and to the University Library and University generally, a business justification must be submitted, and this justification will be reviewed by BHRSC staff. If questions arise, the BHRSC staff will check with AULs and/or unit heads for guidance as to whether a proposed use is supportable.

The following are uses of professional development funds that are generally allowable:

  • Registration fees and travel to attend or present at conferences.
  • Fees for one-time professional development opportunities such as workshops and continuing education classes (non-credit).
  • Travel to attend meetings for service obligations

The following uses are not supported:

  • Memberships
  • Tuition for college or university classes
  • Books
  • Subscriptions
  • Recurring or repeating charges (for example, access to learning platforms)
  • Software or hardware purchases

Additional Resources:

Scholar’s Travel Fund

Library Travel Procedures: instructions on the procedures relevant to this policy.

Purchasing App: Reimbursement Instructions: reimbursement procedures.