Unit Policy
Title
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine: Clinical Faculty Professional Funds Policy
Introduction
Purpose
This policy provides guidance on the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine’s annual Clinical Faculty Professional Funds, including allowable expenditures, spending expectations, accumulation limits, and purchasing requirements. It is intended to support continuing medical education and professional growth while ensuring expenditures are prudent and aligned with UNC-Chapel Hill purchasing policies.
Scope
This policy applies to clinical faculty with primary appointments in the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine who receive annual Professional Funds.
Policy
There are three coequal missions of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine:
- To provide exceptional, comprehensive pathology and laboratory medicine clinical services;
- To teach clinical and scientific concepts of pathology and laboratory medicine, and mechanisms of disease to a wide variety of learners; and
- To advance the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine, and the knowledge of diseases and disease mechanisms through innovative research spanning the spectrum from basic to translational to clinical.
To succeed in these missions, clinical faculty with primary appointments in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine are provided an annual allocation of "Professional Funds" for continuing medical education and professional growth. The allocation is prorated based on FTE and hire/separation date. The purpose of this memo is to provide an update on allowable expenditures. If you are uncertain if your request is allowable, please contact your Associate Chair for Administration or Accounting Representative. All submissions are subject to evaluation and guidelines are subject to change as departmental fiscal needs dictate.
All expenditures should be prudent and pertain to professional development. All expenditures are subject to the UNC-Chapel Hill purchasing policies. Purchases should be made directly by the department, not with personal funds. Please coordinate with your Accounting Representative on all purchases. Please note that UNC-Chapel Hill policy states any item(s) purchased with University funds are the property of UNC-Chapel Hill and are to remain the property of UNC-Chapel Hill should the person in possession separate employment.
The expenditure interval for Annual Faculty Professional Fund allocation runs from July 1 through June 30, with an allowable accumulation of unspent funds of no more than $5,000 on June 30. Each faculty member will receive their annual professional fund allocation at the time of notification of annual salary. Additional professional development funds can be allocated at the discretion of the Chair based on acceptable written or verbal explanation of the professional development purpose. However, faculty are expected to first use startup funds if available.
Appropriate Professional Fund expenditures include:
- NC Medical license renewals
- Travel to professional conferences – please follow our departmental travel procedures
- Activities that generate CME/SAM credits
- Professional society membership dues/journal subscriptions
- Educational materials
- Costs related to scholarship (e.g., page charges for publications) and research (e.g., fees for Core Lab services).
- Desktop computers/laptops/tablets in addition to the primary workstation provided by the department/hospital. Note that these are the property of the University and must be returned should a faculty member leave the department
Related Requirements
External Regulations
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Name: Dani Burns
Telephone: 919-843-8672
Email: danielle_burns@med.unc.edu
Publication Details
Issuing Officer: Russell Broaddus, MD, PhD, Chair of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Next review: July 1, 2027