unc travel funds

GPSG offers funding for student organizations, departments/programs, and individuals under various circumstances.

In order to support our students in their academic and professional endeavors, the GPSG provides an Emergency Fund, Travel Awards, and appropriates money to student groups on campus. At the end of each academic year, the GPSG VP for Finance submits next year’s budget for Senate approval.

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Royster Society of Fellows

Royster travel funding process.

Last update: December 2022

Royster Fellows receive a travel allowance for professional development opportunities. This allowance is available to use before graduation. If you would like to request Royster travel funds for an upcoming trip, please follow the steps below.

• Determine eligibility Royster travel funding must be used for professional development purposes, such as presenting your research, serving on a panel at a conference, or participating in a job talk or interview. Traveling for research purposes is not eligible. Contact Laura Pratt prior to making any travel expenditures to confirm eligibility.

• Pre-payment method : Royster can pre-pay for the fixed costs of your trip. Fixed costs include conference registration, airfare, lodging, and per-diem meals . You will provide the exact cost of these expenses on the form. We will then process a payment to your student account for the indicated amount. You should receive the funds in about 10 business days. You will then use the funds to cover the expenses. Once the purchase(s) have been made, you will need to send the receipt(s) to Laura. Adjustments to your award may be necessary if your actual costs are higher or lower than originally indicated on the pre-approval form. For any other costs you incur on the trip (taxi, parking, etc.), those will be handled via reimbursement as outlined below.
• Reimbursement method : You will initially cover the cost of your trip out-of-pocket. After returning from your trip, send all receipts to Laura and you will be reimbursed via your student account for the total cost.

Send the completed form to Laura Pratt prior to booking any travel.

If you are requesting funds for an international trip, you will also need to complete the Graduate Student Request for Travel Restriction Exception process through the RASR system. Details about the process can be found on the UNC Global website .

• Travel Enjoy your trip and keep your receipts. You will need them for the next step.

Gerald Unks Travel Fellowship Fund

Application details, can be used for, eligibility.

- Must include four days in London. - A graduating senior must begin travel within six months of receiving his or her undergraduate degree. - A recipient must begin travel no later than twelve months from the date of selection for the fellowship.

Description

The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs is pleased to administer “The Gerald Unks Undergraduate Travel Fellowship.” The awards are made to deserving Carolina students with applicable travel plans. The travel fellowship fund is made possible by the very gracious contributions of Dr. Gerald Unks who has established a permanent University trust fund for this purpose.

The fellowship was established upon the realization of the need for understanding and communication between people of various nationalities and cultures as methods of preserving world peace, the hope of increasing international awareness among citizens of the United States of America, and the inestimable value and reward of foreign travel for undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Each award is $3,200 and six recipients will be selected.

To be eligible for selection to receive a fellowship, the student must:

• be a citizen of the United States;
• have completed at least 51 semester hours of college credit, with at least 27 of those semester hours in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
• be enrolled in good standing as a full-time upper-class undergraduate, in any major, of a baccalaureate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the term immediately preceding the receipt of the fellowship;
• and submit a proposed foreign travel itinerary that includes a stay of at least four days in London, England, United Kingdom.

Approved itineraries vary greatly, but must be focused on the experience of travel – not staying in one foreign location to complete an internship, project, class, etc. The awards are for support of an individual student, traveling either independently or as part of a group, and are intended to support travel for at least six weeks.

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Student Programs

The gerald unks undergraduate travel fellowship.

WE REGRETFULLY ANNOUNCE THAT DUE TO THE PANDEMIC AND ONGOING WORLD-WIDE TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS, WE WILL  NOT  BE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THIS FELLOWSHIP AT THIS TIME. WE WILL UPDATE THIS SITE WHEN WE KNOW MORE.

The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs is pleased to administer “The Gerald Unks Undergraduate Travel Fellowship.” The awards are made to deserving Carolina students with applicable travel plans. The travel fellowship fund is made possible by the very gracious contributions of Dr. Gerald Unks who has established a permanent University trust fund for this purpose.

The fellowship was established upon the realization of the need for understanding and communication between people of various nationalities and cultures as methods of preserving world peace, the hope of increasing international awareness among citizens of the United States of America, and the inestimable value and reward of foreign travel for undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The awards are generally made every spring semester to deserving Carolina students with applicable travel plans.

Eligibility

To be eligible for selection to receive a fellowship, the student must:

• be a citizen of the United States;
• have completed at least 51 semester hours of college credit, with at least 27 of those semester hours in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
• be enrolled in good standing as a full-time upper-class undergraduate, in any major, of a baccalaureate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the term immediately preceding the receipt of the fellowship; and
• submit a proposed foreign travel itinerary that includes a stay of at least four days in London, England, United Kingdom. Approved itineraries vary greatly, but must be focused on the experience of travel - not staying in one foreign location to complete an internship, project, class, etc. The awards are for support of an individual student, traveling either independently or as part of a group, and are intended to support travel for at least six weeks.

Travel Stipulations

A recipient must begin travel no later than twelve months from the date of selection for the fellowship. A graduating senior must begin travel within six months of receiving his or her undergraduate degree. The awards are for support of an individual student, traveling either independently or as part of a group, and are intended to support travel for at least six weeks.

Any use of the funds for purposes other than those described in the application for fellowship, or any substantive failure to complete the travel and itinerary as proposed in the application, will require a full or partial repayment of the moneys advanced to the student (the amount of repayment to be determined by the selection committee).

The recipient is expected to:

• Confirm final travel plans and itinerary before commencing travel.
• Send monthly status reports on the trip itself during the course of travel.
• Provide a final summary of the experience, hardcopy receipts, and verification that the itinerary and activities proposed were followed at the conclusion of travel.

How to Apply/Deadline

Applicants must submit their applications online at:

The Gerald Unks Undergraduate Travel Fellowship Application

Due date for future applications will be announced. The fellowship awards are generally made in April, and the recipients will be immediately notified.  There is no specific application form or format for the proposal, although applicants are encouraged to be as specific as reasonably possible in sharing their plans with the selection committee. Questions or requests for additional clarification should be directed to Jessye Bongiovanni at [email protected] .

Gerald Unks Travel Fellowship Application

Selection Committee and Basis for Award

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Travel Funding

Graduate student travel expenses.

GPSG sets aside a certain amount of its funding each year to help graduate students travel to academic and professional conferences that benefit their education while positively representing UNC Charlotte at these events.

To Find Forms on NinerEngage

• Log in to  Niner Engage  using your NinerNet credentials.
• Search for  Graduate & Professional Student Government  and select the appropriate Organization.
• Select the appropriate Funding Application form you are looking for under the Forms section

2024 Treasury update

• Travelers who are attending a conference may be approved by the finance committee up to $350. 
• Travelers who are presenting at a conference may be approved by the finance committee up to $600 ($700 international) for a member of a chartered organization and up to $300 ($400 international) if a student at-large, however, exact amount requested by each student will be approved if less than the maximum amount allowed. 
• During the Spring semester, if what is left of each student’s annual maximum allowable amount exceeds the maximum amount allowed per application, students shall be eligible to receive the difference, provided that all eligibility criteria are met. This allocation will be based on a first-come-first-served basis.

Any currently enrolled graduate student of UNC Charlotte can apply to get money to help with the cost of attending or presenting at one (or more) conference(s). You must be a currently enrolled student at the time of travel. 

• You must be a graduate student enrolled at UNC Charlotte;
• Your conference/symposium must be eligible for GPSG travel funding;
• You must apply within the correct application window;
• If you were awarded travel funds from the GPSG earlier in the current fiscal year (from June 1st until now), the total of these GPSG awards must not exceed your annual maximum of $800.00.
• You must be a member of a student organization or if not a member must only be presenting; we no longer fund students who are not members of an organization who are attending conferences
• Undergraduates enrolled in an early entry program are not elligible for travel funding.

Conferences/Symposia Eligible for Travel Funding

• Any academic and/or professional conference that would benefit student's graduate education. GPSG does not provide funding for classes such as study/training sessions for professional exams or continuing education workshops.
• You may apply as a presenter even if you have not been accepted when the window opens (if you are no longer presenting or not accepted please let the GPSG treasurer know immediately) 

Proof of registration or acceptance (in case of a paper or poster presentation) to the conference/symposium is not needed in order to apply for Travel Funding.

How to Apply for Travel Funding

One academic year consists of 3 separate application windows open for 2 weeks each. It is not possible to apply for travel funding outside these application windows. Each application window only accepts submissions for conferences that take place within a particular period of time.

Fall conferences/symposia

If the first day of the conference/symposium falls within October 1st and December 31st:

• Application window: from September 1st until September 20th.
• Notification of Approval/Denial of travel funds: September 30th.

Spring conferences/symposia

If the first day of the conference/symposium falls within January 1st and May 31st:

• Application window: from November 1st until November 15th.
• Notification of Approval/Denial of travel funds: December 1st.

Summer conferences/symposia

If the first day of the conference/symposium falls within June 1st and September 30th:

• Application window: from April 1st until April 15th.
• Notification of Approval/Denial of travel funds: May 1st.

The application must be filled-in using the online travel form on NinerEngage. The online form is only accessible when an application window is opened.

**please remember you are not guaranteed support from GPSG unless you receive an email from the GPSG Treasurer**

TRAVEL SETTLEMENT FORM MUST BE COMPLETED NO LATER THAN 2 WEEKS AFTER YOUR RETURN DATE

Fund Your Research

There are many ways to receive funding to support your research: through the Office for Undergraduate Research, from other institutions at UNC, and from external sources. OUR sponsors or co-sponsors several fellowship programs that offer funding for students to do mentored research in the summer and/or during the academic year:

SURF: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships

SURFs are major awards (at least $4,000) to enable undergraduates to engage in summer research under the guidance of a UNC faculty advisors for a minimum of 9 weeks at 20 hours/week. Applications for SURF are considered once a year and proposals are due on February 1st each year.

Summer Award for Research-Intensive Courses

This award covers in-state tuition for one three-hour research-intensive course at UNC-Chapel Hill. The course must offer one-on-one mentorship with a UNC faculty member. Such courses have a standard course number of *95 (i.e., 395, 495) and are offered in many departments already or can be added for a specific year.

Other Summer Research Opportunities

We’ve compiled an ever-evolving list of Summer Research Opportunities at Carolina and in other places.

Travel Funding

The Office for Undergraduate Research (OUR) offers travel awards of up to $500 to UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students to help pay for the cost of travel to present results of their research or creative performance at a professional conference in their field. The travel awards are made possible by a generous gift from the McGee Family Undergraduate Research Fund. Travel Awards funds may be used for registration and travel expenses, but not hotel or food expenses.

Current Funding Opportunities

Our “News and Updates” has the most recent funding opportunities from around campus.

Other Sources of Funding

If you are interested in international research or research involving a global audience, check out the funding database and other resources maintained by UNC’s Center for Global Initiatives .

For other sources of summer support, please visit the  Carolina Internal Funding Database . Many of the programs listed on our  Undergraduate Research Programs at UNC  page also offer funding for undergraduate research.

Financial Support

Graduate students in good standing receive financial support in the form of a Teaching Assistantship. But the Department also encourages students to seek out external funding in the form of competitive Graduate School and national fellowships, particularly during the dissertation years.

Resources for finding appropriate funding include:

• UNC Graduate School Funding
• UNC Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid
• Graduate Funding Information Center (GFIC)
• Funding Information Portal

Graduate students are also encouraged to seek feedback on their fellowship applications to make them more competitive. Dissertation advisors, graduate advisors, peers (in GRA Working Groups), and departmental fellowship workshops are all excellent sources of advice.

Other resources include:

• UNC Successful Proposals Collection
• UNC Writing Center

Internal Funding

Department of romance studies funding opportunities.

Enrolled graduate students are eligible for the following departmental travel and research awards.

Travel Grant

To apply for departmental funds:.

• The letters should include a brief explanation of the nature of the conference, a brief explanation of your paper or other reason for attending, as well as a budget for airfare, gas/rental expenses, hotel charges, etc.  Please also include the invitation to present or to attend an interview. Your PID must be included at the bottom of the letter.
• The  online travel request , with the letter of application included, should be submitted by February 19th for Spring 2024. Applications submitted after the deadlines may be considered but funding would not be guaranteed. (No hard copy of the application is required)
• Upon approval by Director for Graduate Studies, and Graduate Student Services Manager will ensure delivery of the approved amount to the student via their Student Account.

Priority will go to those student presenters who have not previously received this type of support from the Department.  Applications accepted and awards made September through April, based on availability of funding.

The Graduate School also offers Graduate Transportation Grants to assist with travel to academic conferences and professional meetings. In 2023-2024, these grants offer up to $1400 for domestic travel and $3000 for foreign travel. Application instructions may be found here . Students are encouraged to apply for Graduate School grants  before   applying for departmental funds. Applications for departmental funds will be considered more competitive if they include proof of a prior application for the Graduate School Transportation Grant.

Travel Fellowships

• McCulloch Dissertation Research Travel Fellowship for French (2 awards; $5000 each) (Note that the McCulloch Fellowship may be used in any French-speaking country.)
• Dana B. Drake Research Travel Fellowship for Spanish ($2,000)
• Isabella Payne Cooper Dissertation Research Fellowship for Italian ($2,000)

Summer Awards

• Guthrie-Buchan Summer Fellowship for Spanish (1 award; $2,800)
• Professor J. M. Polo de Bernabé Memorial Summer Research Award for Spanish (1 award; $5,000)
• Hardré Summer Award for French (1 award; $5,000)
• VanderWolk Summer Grant for French (1 award; $2,000) 
• Falvo Summer Award for Italian (1 award; $1,000)

Kyser Graduate Award for Summer Research for Italian (TBD on availability)

• Expand and develop a graduate course essay into a full-length article to submit for journal publication by the first day of Fall 2024. A winning proposal will entail significant additional research in primary and/or secondary sources. The student will consult a faculty mentor as they prepare their manuscript for submission. This opportunity for guidance through the publication process provides important professional development. Successful publication will add an important distinction to the student’s CV as they compete for other research fellowships and eventually go on the job market.
• Enroll in a summer graduate program, either domestically or abroad, that complements the student’s intended field of study.

Eligibility: Candidates must be pre-ABD at the time of application. Guidelines: By March 15, candidates should submit an  online application  that reflects the proposed project, as described above.

• Submit a 200-word abstract of the expanded research project, a 200-word explanation of the additional research to be completed, the name of the peer-reviewed journal they would like to submit to, and the signature of the faculty mentor.
• Submit a one-page description of the selected program and a rationale for its relevance to your intended field.

Druscilla French Fund Award (any language)

• have distinguished themselves both as a student and as a teacher or mentor to undergraduate students in a classroom or research setting while at UNC;
• must have completed at least three semesters of graduate study in the College of Arts & Sciences; and will most likely complete degree requirements and graduate within the next four semesters;
• must be a full-time student at the time of nomination and plan to be a full-time student in AY 2024-25;
• should currently be actively involved in research and/or teaching, and will be active in one or both in AY 2024-25.

Guidelines: To apply, candidates should submit an online application that includes:

1. A brief (1-page) description of the student’s academic performance and progress toward degree completion, including stage of the dissertation; 2. 1-page description of the student’s teaching and mentoring excellence; 3. a brief (1 paragraph) description of the student’s likely future contribution to the discipline or chosen area of study; 4. Curriculum Vitae

5. Letter of Nomination from a faculty member (2 pages maximum) Please provide the link below to your faculty nominator to submit their nomination: https://romancestudies.unc.edu/recommendation-letter/

UNC Graduate School Funding Opportunities

• Boka W. Hadzija Award   3 (Departmental Deadline – February 3rd, 2024 )
• Summer Research   (2024 Summer Departmental Deadline –  February 12th, 2024 )
• Off-Campus Research  (Fall 2024 Departmental Deadline –  February 23rd, 2024 )
• Dissertation Completion  (2024-2025 Departmental Deadline –  February 23rd, 2024 )
• Graduate Tuition Incentive Scholarship  (Departmental Deadline – January 24th, 2024)

*Departmental deadlines for these awards will be announced by email each year.

External Funding

Opportunities for everyone, mellon international dissertation research fellowship (idrf), charlotte w. newcombe foundation, american fellowship, ford foundation dissertation fellowship, opportunities for french, chateaubriand fellowship, mary isabel sibley fellowship, walter j. jensen fellowship, opportunities for spanish.

Institute for the Study of the Americas Fellowships

Student Research Funding

Carnegie research grants.

Small grants are available to SILS students for assistance with research costs where unusual expenses are involved. Undergraduate students may apply once for up to $200 for expenses associated with their honors thesis. Master’s students may apply once for up to $200 for expenses associated with their master’s paper. Doctoral students may apply twice for up to $200 each time ($400 total) for expenses associated with their research projects. Grants can be made for the costs of travel, postage, compensation of human subjects, and certain other expenses. Grants are not made for the mechanical preparation of the resulting paper, i.e., typing, photocopying of the finished paper, etc. Your application must be approved before you make any expenditures for which you are requesting funds. Carnegie Research Grant Application

Travel Grants

SILS students who are presenting their work at a professional/research conference may apply for up to $200 for expenses associated with travel to that conference. To apply, they should fill out the either the SILS Student Conference Registration Request (for registration only) or SILS Student Travel Authorization, for both forms you will select Conference Travel Funds as the funding sourse.  The form needs to be submitted for approval prior to the trip. Reimbursement after the meeting will be made based on submission of actual receipts. In some cases, registration fee reimbursement may be requested in advance of the conference. SILS Student Conference Registration Request  or SILS Student Travel Authorization

SILS Alumni Association Student Professional Development Award

The SILS Alumni Association would like to support students’ professional development and make it easier to engage professionally and participate in new communities. This might be through research presentations, participating on a panel, learning new skills, or acquiring fresh perspectives and ideas to make SILS a more inclusive, engaged environment. To that end, students may apply for up to a $200 grant to help them pay for expenses associated with a professional conference where they are presenting, attending a workshop, or learning new skills and perspectives to bring back to SILS. Professional development can be for in-person or virtual events. To apply, please fill out the application . The form needs to be submitted for approval prior to the trip. Reimbursement after the travel will be made based on submission of actual receipts.

Edward G. Holley Research Grants

SILS graduate students may apply once for up to $1,000 to help fund expenses associated with their research.  Grants can be made for the costs of travel, postage, compensation of human subjects, and certain other expenses. Grants are not made for the mechanical preparation of the resulting paper, i.e., typing, photocopying of the finished paper, etc. Your application must be approved before you make any expenditures for which you are requesting funds.

Edward G. Holley Research Grant Application

Procedure for research grant funding

• Talk with your research advisor and secure the advisor’s approval for submitting a request.
• Develop a brief statement as to how the funds are to be used, along with a proposed budget.
• Have the faculty advisor complete the advisor approval section.
• Turn in the completed application to the SILS Associate Dean.
• You will be notified upon approval of your application
• Each subject must sign and date a receipt acknowledging they received payment as compensation for participation in the study. These receipts should be kept confidential, along with the signed informed consent forms, either by the advisor or with the IRB forms in the main office for five years.
• To receive reimbursement, the student should submit a receipt containing the following information: number of subjects, amount given to each subject, date(s) of disbursement, statement of who holds the subjects’ acknowledgements receiving payment, signature of student, signature of advisor.
• In case of audit, the subjects’ acknowledgements may need to be produced for review.

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• Purchasing and Contracts

Travel Policies and Procedures

• UNC Visa Card

This page provides you with a high level overview of the travel policies and procedures at UNC.  For more detailed information regarding travel questions, please contact your Accounting Specialist, Purchasing, or refer to Chapter 5 of the University's Fiscal Rules .

Since travel is a sensitive area of expenditure that is often scrutinized by the public, all UNC travel should be made with the highest level of integrity and all expenditures - whether state appropriated, grant, auxiliary or other funds for which UNC is accountable - should be made in compliance with the spirit and letter of UNC's policies and procedures.

A Travel Authorization ("TA") form must be completed for all UNC travel, regardless of whether UNC funds will be expended for the trip. If UNC funds will be expended, the TA must be completed before any expenses are incurred. This form requires that you identify the purpose of the trip, the expenses to be paid for by UNC, and that you obtain the necessary approvals for travel. See the Travel Authorization Guide for help completing or approving the TA.

The required approvals for a TA will vary depending on the location of travel and your college or department on campus. Below is a general guideline of what approvals are required, but please check with your Accounting Specialist regarding any special approvals or process that are required for your college or department. 

  Employee Travelers

• No TA Required.
• College Faculty and Staff Travelers : FOAP Approver, Dean, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.  
• Athletics : Complete all paperwork through the Athletics' Business Office, Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• All Other Staff Travelers : FOAP Approver, Associate/Assistant Vice President or Vice President, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• Dean/AVP:  FOAP Approver, Vice President, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• VP Travelers:   FOAP Approver, President, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• College Faculty and Staff Travelers : FOAP Approver (Accounting Specialist), Dean, OGE, Provost, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• Athletics : Complete all paperwork through the Athletics' Business Office. In addition to the normal process, the TA must also be approved by OGE, the Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• All Other Staff Travelers : FOAP Approver (Accounting Specialist), OGE, Associate/Assistant Vice President or Vice President, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• Dean/AVP: FOAP Approver, Vice President, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• VP Travelers:  FOAP Approver, President, and Grant/Foundation Approver(s) as needed.
• All international travelers must comply with the additional policies and practices of OGE.
• University sponsored travel to countries designated by the State Department as Level 3 or Level 4 is not allowed. Please visit the State Department website to determine if any restrictions are in place.
• If a traveler has been awarded travel funds from the Provost's Office or ORSP, a copy of the travel award letter needs to be attached to signify the fund approval. Since the letter is attached to the TA, a Fund Approver's approval is not needed (but all other approvals are still required).

Non-UNC Employee Travelers

Non-UNC employee travelers are generally students or other individuals who are not UNC employees and are not being paid as independent contractors. Travel-related expenses for independent contractors must be added to the total lump-sum payment to the individual and separate travel reimbursements are not paid out to individuals in this category.

The same travel policies and procedures for UNC employees must be followed for non-UNC employee travelers. In addition to completing a travel authorization form, non-UNC employee travelers must complete and submit a W-9 form and a direct-deposit authorization form so that they can be set up in the financial system to receive reimbursement for their travel expenses.

A person traveling on behalf of UNC may only charge expenses to UNC which are allowable under UNC’s Fiscal Rule and that have been approved by the appropriate FOAP Approver(s).  Allowable travel expenses include, but may not be limited to:

• Air travel must be completed using the most economical means available which satisfactorily accomplishes the University’s business.
• Upgrades are not allowed unless prior approval has been obtained by the traveler for things such as security, health or a disability/special need.
• Chartered flights require prior approval by the Purchasing & Contracts Office.
• Baggage fees for one bag are allowable.  Charges for a second bag require pre-approval by the FOAP Approver.
• Meals and Incidental Expenses (see the Per Diem section for additional information)
• Ground Transportation - this includes taxi, shuttle, Uber/Lyft, subway, train, tolls, and parking
• Rental Cars
• Mileage for use of personal vehicles
• DIA parking rates are limited to $18 per day
• Garage/lot parking may be paid/reimbursed at the rate charged to the traveler

The following expenses may not be charged to a UNC VISA card and will not be reimbursed to a traveler:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Entertainment Expenses
• Personal expenses above the incidental expense allowed by the Per Diem Rate
• Travel expenses incurred for political activities
• Traffic fines and parking tickets
• Meals for one day travel
• Travel insurance for domestic travel (unless pre-approved by the Dean/Director and Risk Management)
• Rental Car Insurance except a policy for Loss of Use (see the Ground Transportation section for additional information)

Whenever possible, a UNC VISA card should be used for all allowable travel expenses (except meals) that  have been approved to be paid from University funds.  Please see the Allowable Travel Expenses section, above, for a list of what are considered allowable expenses.  UNC will provide travelers with a per diem for meals (see the Per Diem section for additional information).

For those travelers that choose not to use a UNC VISA for allowable expenditures, please be aware that the reimbursement request may be delayed up to 30 days.

For all approved expenses that cannot be charged to the UNC VISA card, a Travel Reimbursement Form should be submitted to Accounts Payable within 60 days of returning from your trip. Any reimbursement forms that are received after the 60th day will be considered a taxable reimbursement per the IRS Accountable Plan (see the Definitions Section below for additional information).

The University provides travelers with a per diem to cover meal and incidental expenses. A college or department may establish a lower per diem rate, so please check with your Chair/Director or Accounting Specialist if you have questions regarding the correct per diem rate.

• Per diem is paid at the rate outlined on the GSA website .
• See Appendix B for breakdown of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and incidentals

For the first and last day of travel, per diem is paid at 75% of the per diem rate. Additionally, per diem will be reduced to reflect any meals provided to the traveler by the conference or host entity.

Per diem will be deposited in the traveler's personal bank account approximately 5 business days prior to the scheduled departure date. Please be aware that per diem is paid based upon the information provided on the TA, so per diem will not be paid in advance if the TA has not been submitted far enough in advance.

If it is determined that a rental car is needed, a traveler should rent a car from Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Enterprise as UNC receives discounts from these agencies based on contracts negotiated by the State of Colorado.

The UNC Visa card should be used on all rental cars as it provides primary collision damage insurance on all vehicles except trucks, SUV's, and 15-passenger vans. As secondary insurance, UNC provides coverage for liability and physical damage. In addition to the insurance provided by the UNC VISA card and UNC's insurance policy, Enterprise and Hertz also provide damage waiver insurance at no cost as part of the discounted rate. The traveler may consider purchasing Loss of Use insurance as UNC's insurance policy covers Loss of Use for $100 per day up to a maximum of $1,000 or coverage for ten (10) days. Check with your private auto insurance to see if Loss of Use for rental vehicles is covered under your personal policy and would pick up any additional costs beyond UNC's limits.

Please be aware that these insurance policies will only apply to the listed driver, so if more than one UNC employee will be driving a rental vehicle, all driving individuals need to be listed.

In order to receive the discount and insurance benefits, you must use the contract codes at the time of rental. The discount codes are:

• Avis: A514100
• Budget: T143828
• Enterprise Rental Car: XZ12450
• Hertz: 65579

Please note that these same discounts and benefits are available to UNC employees for personal use by using the discount codes provided above.

As of January 1, 2023, the IRS is increasing the mileage reimbursement rate. UNC will reimburse mileage at a rate of $0.59 per mile for travel completed after 1/1/23.

Mileage reimbursements for travel completed prior to 1/1/23 will be reimbursed at the previous 2022 rate of $0.56 per mile.

• Under revised IRS regulations, mileage between home and airport can now be advanced with any claimed per diem. This can be claimed at the time the TA is submitted in OnBase.
• All other mileage in personal vehicles can only be claimed as a reimbursement after the trip is completed. A travel reimbursement form, along with a copy of the approved TA for overnight/out-of-state travel, should be submitted to Accounts Payable within 60 days of the completion of the trip. Please work with your Accounting Specialist to submit this form.
• Mileage reimbursements for same day travel can be submitted without attaching a TA.
• $114.00 per night, single or double occupancy
• $124.00 per night, triple occupancy
• $134.00 per night, quadruple occupancy
• The UNC Friends and Family Rate offers a 15% discount on published rates and is available for anyone associated with UNC such as  those individuals visiting UNC booking their own lodging, UNC Alumni members, UNC Student Family visits, and UNC faculty and staff staying for personal use.
• To get the UNC rates, guests paying by credit card MUST book their reservation directly with the Greeley hotel at 1-800-222-TREE (8733) and not through any websites.  The Doubletree website doesn’t offer the UNC rate as it is hosted by the Hilton corporation.  Guests must ask for the UNC rate at the time the reservation is made.

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If you do not make a reservation, you can still show your UNC business card or employee ID to the cashier upon exit to receive your discount.

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Student Travel Fund (STF)

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center provides travel grant opportunities for students engaged in research, creative and performance activities.  These Student Travel Funds are designed to help defray costs associated with travel for extracurricular research, or to conferences, meetings, exhibits, or performances where the student’s extracurricular project is presented. Support can include costs of travel, room, board, and registration.   These funds cannot be used to cover the cost of travel related to required class projects or assignments.  Please note that STF prioritizes funding for students that have applied for or been accepted to present extracurricular research at major conferences or venues in their academic discipline.

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The maximum request amount for STF is $800 ; group requests are welcome but may not exceed 4 people at $800 per person. Individual students may apply for up to two separate STFs in the same semester, but they may not be for the same opportunity.  Requests are due by the 1st of each month, with award announcement by month’s end.   Summer STFs must be submitted by the end of April.

STUDENT TRAVEL FUND APPLICATION GUIDELINES: 

• Applicants must be in good academic standing in an undergraduate degree program at the time of application.
• Proposal must be approved by the faculty mentor before proposal submission.
• Proposal must be student-authored.  Proposals that appear fully or partially faculty authored will not be considered.
• Travel must be completed within six months of the award date AND prior to graduation.
• Funds must be used for travel only as identified in the approved and submitted grant application. 
• Only two applications per investigator per semester, and one application per project, is allowed. 
• If presenting at a conference, include a copy of the acceptance letter for the presentation/performance/exhibit. If evidence of acceptance is not available by the grant deadline, indicate acceptance pending and include copy of meeting solicitation.  Proposals should be submitted mindful of this schedule.
• Traveling for scholarly and creative research is encouraged.  If traveling for research, submit a research plan, and then report your work upon your return. 
• All funds must be spent within the fiscal year of application. 

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• Each travel grant request will be evaluated by the PURC office and may be referred to the PURC Council for consultation. 
• Award sizes are based upon availability of funds and previous student support. 
• The PURC office reserves the right to fund proposals at a reduced amount if insufficient funds exist to support all applications of merit. 

STF APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: 

Email the following in PDF format to [email protected] (Incomplete, non-PDF or paper-only applications will be returned without review):

• Completed PURC cover sheet (see below) with faculty mentor approval and signature.
• A completed Student Travel Agreement Form.
• A typed explanation of the purpose of the travel.
• A brief description of the project to be presented (the presentation abstract will suffice).
• A detailed budget justification, including categorized trip costs (e.g. airfare, registration fees, hotel expenses, and amount requested from the Student Travel Grant fund).  Please include all sources of funding.
• A brief discussion of how the proposed activity will benefit the student, university, department and community (as applicable).
• A copy of the acceptance letter for the presentation/performance/exhibit.  If evidence of acceptance is not available by the grant deadline, indicate acceptance pending and include copy of meeting solicitation.
• If traveling for research, submit a research plan, and then report your work upon your return. 

DUE DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Applications are due by the 1st of each month until available funds are expended.    As funds are awarded on a first come, first serve basis, early applications are highly encouraged. All applications must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the date of travel.   All applications must be submitted in PDF format.  Please do not send multiple emails containing different files related to one application; this constitutes an incomplete application and will not be reviewed.

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• All funded students are required to present their work at the PURC Symposium in the Spring of each year.   Students that do not complete this requirement become ineligible for future PURC funding.   

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The Travel area of the Disbursements department is a unit of the Controller’s Office that facilitates travel and business expense payments for UNC Charlotte’s travelers and employees. The Travel team provides customer support, campus training through Human Resources, and customized departmental training sessions upon request. Travel payment specialists review food service payments for quality assurance and process travel advances.

Email: [email protected] – General questions and/or payment inquiries

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Note that the following topics are managed by other UNC Charlotte departments. Please see the respective department sites for further information:

• Field Trip Information and Forms: Office of Legal Affairs and Risk Management and Insurance
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Travel Information

The Travel staff process all travel and employee and student direct pay requests by the individual’s last name or by the vendor’s name. This is subject to change depending on volume.

• Individual’s last name/Vendor name A-F: Jane
• Individual’s last name/Vendor name G-Q: Reina
• Individual’s last name/Vendor name R-Z: Amber

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Recent News

University of North Carolina to dump 'divisive' DEI, spend funds on public safety

Amid campus protests nationwide and a push to revise diversity policies at state public universities, the Board of Trustees for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill voted Monday to redirect the $2.3 million that funded diversity, equity and inclusion programs toward public safety measures.

The unanimous decision comes ahead of a vote next week by the UNC Board of Governors that’s expected to limit DEI initiatives and may lead to personnel layoffs. The board's governance committee approved the change for all public colleges and universities in April, but the move requires a vote by the full board.

Trustee Marty Kotis, vice-chair of the budget committee, said the funds are needed for campus policing and safety in light of the pro-Palestinian protests that swept through college campuses in late April and earlier this month. At UNC Chapel Hill, 36 demonstrators were detained – six of them arrested – and the U.S. flag was replaced by a Palestinian one during an April 30 protest.

“It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations,” he said.

Kotis also called DEI policies, first implemented at North Carolina’s flagship university in 2017, “discriminatory and divisive,’’ according to Chapel Hill-based public radio station WUNC .

“I think that DEI in a lot of people’s minds is divisiveness, exclusion and indoctrination,” Kotis said, according to WUNC. “We need more unity and togetherness, more dialogue, more diversity of thought.”

The UNC Office of Diversity and Inclusion , which did not respond to USA TODAY messages seeking comment, says in its website that it aims to “celebrate all members of the Carolina community, to broaden our collective understanding, and foster a sense of belonging by uplifting diverse identities, cultures, experiences, and perspectives.’’

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, a noted UNC alumna, retweeted a story by the Raleigh News & Observer reporting on the DEI story, but she did not comment on it.

Hannah-Jones, who created the acclaimed 1619 Project for the New York Times Magazine exploring the legacy of slavery in the U.S., was appointed to a professor position at UNC in 2021, but the Board of Trustees rejected the journalism department’s recommendation and denied her tenure, leading to an outcry from students and faculty. She eventually turned down the post and joined the Howard University faculty instead.

North Carolina is only the latest in a string of states taking aim at DEI programs in public universities, a move spearheaded by conservatives. Texas and Florida are the two largest states to banish them, behind GOP governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, respectively. North Carolina has a Democratic governor in Roy Cooper, but Republicans have at least a 20-seat majority in both the state Senate and the House.

UNC-Chapel Hill board slashes diversity funding to divert money to public safety resources

RALEIGH, N.C. — As North Carolina’s public university system considers a vote on changing its diversity policy, the system’s flagship university board voted Monday to cut funding for diversity programs in next year’s budget.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved a change that would divert $2.3 million of diversity funding to go toward public safety and policing at a special meeting to address the university’s budget. The board’s vote would only impact UNC-Chapel Hill’s diversity funding, which could result in the loss of its diversity office.

The vote to shift more funding to public safety comes as continued pro-Palestinian protests on UNC’s campus have resulted in several arrests in recent weeks. The budget committee vice-chair Marty Kotis said law enforcement has already been forced to react to protests, but they need more funding to keep the university “safe from a larger threat.”

“It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations,” Kotis said. “It takes away resources for others.”

After approving the change in the budget committee, the full board passed the measure at the end of the special meeting. Budget chair Dave Boliek, who is also running for state auditor in Tuesday’s runoff election, said it gives the university an “opportunity to lead on this” and get ahead of the vote by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ on its diversity policy.

Last month, the statewide board’s Committee on University Governance  voted  to reverse and replace its DEI policy for 17 schools across the state. The change would alter a 2019 diversity, equity and inclusion regulation that defines the  roles of various DEI positions  — and it would appear to eliminate those jobs if the policy is removed.

The full 24-member board is scheduled to vote next week on the policy change. If the alteration is approved, it will take effect immediately.

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UNC-Chapel Hill BOT votes to divert DEI funding, redirecting it to campus public safety

The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees has voted to divert $2.3 million away from diversity, equity and inclusion programs and into “public safety.”

The unanimous vote occurred at a special Board of Trustees meeting Monday morning. It is unclear if the diversion of funds would lead to layoffs.

Marty Kotis is vice chair of the board’s budget and finance committee, which initially introduced and passed the “flex cut amendment.” Without citing specific examples, he called DEI programs “discriminatory and divisive.”

“I think that DEI in a lot of people’s minds is divisiveness, exclusion and indoctrination,” Kotis said. “We need more unity and togetherness, more dialogue, more diversity of thought.”

According to the UNC-Chapel Hill Office of Diversity and Inclusion, their mission is to “create and sustain a diverse, inclusive and welcoming environment for all students, faculty and alumni.”

Kotis and other board members said it was important to have additional funding for public safety to protect the campus from groups that “disrupt the university’s operations.”

Many members specifically mentioned recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus . Last month, police detained more than 30 people at an encampment where protesters removed the U.S. flag and replaced it with a Palestinian one .

“When you destroy property or you take down the U.S flag and you have to put up gates around it — that costs money,” Kotis said. “It’s imperative that we have the proper resources for law enforcement to protect the campus.”

Several people, including Chapel Hill and Carrboro town council members, have condemned the university’s police response to campus demonstrations.

“UNC administration created an environment that inevitably resulted in an escalation of force, including the use of pepper spray against its own students,” reads a letter signed by a majority of town council members. “This use of aggressive police tactics against students and community members invites aggressive responses, and only serves to escalate an already tense situation.”

Neither Chapel Hill nor Carrboro police were involved in the on-campus protests.

“It is a shame that the town of Chapel Hill refuses to aid our local university police when called upon,” David Boliek, chair of the budget and finance committee said. “The $2.3 million would be an added help to what is probably a budget issue with respect to how much we’re having to spend on law enforcement right now.”

The board’s decision to approve a “flex cut amendment” in a special meeting just before the chancellor submits an overall budget to the Board of Governors is highly unusual. Chancellor Lee Roberts attended Monday's special meeting but did not say anything about the diversion of funds.

“While we may be an advisory board, we do have the power of the purse,” Kotis said. “And if we don’t want to approve programs that aren’t in compliance with our (non-discrimination) resolution, then we don’t have to.”

This decision follows a committee vote from the UNC Board of Governors last month to revoke a policy that mandates DEI offices at all public universities in the state. Next week, the full Board of Governors will vote on that same policy change.

If approved, the policy change will be effective immediately and individual university chancellors will have until September of this year to detail how they plan to make cuts to DEI initiatives.

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Recent projections, delegate tracker, georgia, oregon, idaho and kentucky primaries 2024: live results and analysis, unc board slashes diversity program funding, diverts money to public safety resources.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted to cut diversity program funding for next year's budget starting July 1

RALEIGH, N.C. -- As North Carolina's public university system considers a vote on changing its diversity policy, the system's flagship university board voted Monday to cut funding for diversity programs in next year's budget.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved a change that would divert $2.3 million of diversity spending from state funds to go toward public safety and policing at a special meeting to address the university's budget. The board's vote would only impact UNC-Chapel Hill's diversity funding, which could result in the loss of its diversity office.

UNC will join the ranks of other notable public universities that have stripped diversity spending, such as the University of Florida in Gainesville, which announced in a March memo it was reallocating funds to faculty recruitment. But unlike UF, which implemented its funding rollback after the state Legislature passed a bill banning diversity program spending at state universities, UNC “set the tone” on funding cuts before the North Carolina Legislature stepped in, budget chair Dave Boliek said.

“We’re going ahead and, you know, sort of taking a leadership role in this. That’s the way I view it,” Boliek said on Monday after the vote.

The change would go into effect at the start of the 2024-2025 fiscal year on July 1, Boliek said. Any jobs that could be impacted would occur after that date, although Boliek said he wasn't sure how many positions may be affected.

But the decision about whether the spending cut would remove UNC's Office of Diversity & Inclusion will be up to the university's flexible management plan, which is operated by interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and his team. The diversity office has 12 staff members, including a chief diversity officer, according to its website.

The budget, which includes the $2.3 million amendment, will now be submitted to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, UNC spokesperson Kevin Best said in an email.

The vote to shift more funding to public safety comes as continued pro-Palestinian protests on UNC's campus have resulted in several arrests in recent weeks. The budget committee vice-chair Marty Kotis said law enforcement has already been forced to react to protests, but they need more funding to keep the university “safe from a larger threat.”

“It's important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university's operations,” Kotis said. “It takes away resources for others.”

But Boliek, who is also running for state auditor in Tuesday's runoff elections, said the timing of the reallocation was “happenstance" and that internal conversations on diversity spending cuts have persisted for almost a year.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions last year — in which UNC was sued for its admission policies — the board has continually considered how it should handle university diversity programs, he said. Diverting more money toward public safety was also a concern for the board in the aftermath of a fatal August shooting on the UNC campus that left one faculty member dead.

“It makes sense where we can take money that I believe is not being productively used and put it to something that is more productive, and that is providing public safety,” he said.

Before the start of North Carolina's short legislative session, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore told reporters there was interest in pursuing anti-DEI legislation but wanted to let university boards review their diversity policies first.

At least 20 states have seen Republican bill proposals seeking to limit diversity and inclusion programs in several public institutions such as universities.

Now, all eyes are on the UNC Board of Governors, whose 24 members are expected to vote next week on changing its diversity policy after the board's university governance committee voted to reverse and replace the rule last month. The change would alter a 2019 diversity, equity and inclusion regulation that defines the roles of various DEI positions at 17 schools across the state — and it would appear to eliminate those jobs if the policy is removed.

If the alteration is approved, it will take effect immediately.

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UNC board slashes diversity program funding to divert money to public safety resources

FILE - Students work on assignments and listen to organizers as they sit inside the encampment protest in Polk Place on University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C., April 29, 2024. On Monday, May 13, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved a change that would divert $2.3 million of diversity funding to go toward public safety and policing. The vote to shift more funding to public safety comes as continued pro-Palestinian protests on UNC’s campus have resulted in several arrests in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera, File)

FILE - Students and other community members sit outside tents in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s central grounds, Polk Place, as part of an encampment protest, April 29, 2024. On Monday, May 13, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved a change that would divert $2.3 million of diversity funding to go toward public safety and policing. The vote to shift more funding to public safety comes as continued pro-Palestinian protests on UNC’s campus have resulted in several arrests in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera, File)

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As North Carolina’s public university system considers a vote on changing its diversity policy, the system’s flagship university board voted Monday to cut funding for diversity programs in next year’s budget.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved a change that would divert $2.3 million of diversity spending from state funds to go toward public safety and policing at a special meeting to address the university’s budget. The board’s vote would only impact UNC-Chapel Hill’s diversity funding, which could result in the loss of its diversity office.

UNC will join the ranks of other notable public universities that have stripped diversity spending, such as the University of Florida in Gainesville, which announced in a March memo it was reallocating funds to faculty recruitment. But unlike UF, which implemented its funding rollback after the state Legislature passed a bill banning diversity program spending at state universities, UNC “set the tone” on funding cuts before the North Carolina Legislature stepped in, budget chair Dave Boliek said.

“We’re going ahead and, you know, sort of taking a leadership role in this. That’s the way I view it,” Boliek said on Monday after the vote.

The change would go into effect at the start of the 2024-2025 fiscal year on July 1, Boliek said. Any jobs that could be impacted would occur after that date, although Boliek said he wasn’t sure how many positions may be affected.

But the decision about whether the spending cut would remove UNC’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion will be up to the university’s flexible management plan, which is operated by interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and his team. The diversity office has 12 staff members , including a chief diversity officer, according to its website.

The budget, which includes the $2.3 million amendment, will now be submitted to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, UNC spokesperson Kevin Best said in an email.

The vote to shift more funding to public safety comes as continued pro-Palestinian protests on UNC’s campus have resulted in several arrests in recent weeks. The budget committee vice-chair Marty Kotis said law enforcement has already been forced to react to protests, but they need more funding to keep the university “safe from a larger threat.”

“It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations,” Kotis said. “It takes away resources for others.”

But Boliek, who is also running for state auditor in Tuesday’s runoff elections, said the timing of the reallocation was “happenstance” and that internal conversations on diversity spending cuts have persisted for almost a year.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions last year — in which UNC was sued for its admission policies — the board has continually considered how it should handle university diversity programs, he said. Diverting more money toward public safety was also a concern for the board in the aftermath of a fatal August shooting on the UNC campus that left one faculty member dead.

“It makes sense where we can take money that I believe is not being productively used and put it to something that is more productive, and that is providing public safety,” he said.

Before the start of North Carolina’s short legislative session, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore told reporters there was interest in pursuing anti-DEI legislation but wanted to let university boards review their diversity policies first.

At least 20 states have seen Republican bill proposals seeking to limit diversity and inclusion programs in several public institutions such as universities.

Now, all eyes are on the UNC Board of Governors, whose 24 members are expected to vote next week on changing its diversity policy after the board’s university governance committee voted to reverse and replace the rule last month. The change would alter a 2019 diversity, equity and inclusion regulation that defines the roles of various DEI positions at 17 schools across the state — and it would appear to eliminate those jobs if the policy is removed.

If the alteration is approved, it will take effect immediately.

Education | UNC-Chapel Hill trustees move to divert…

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Education | unc-chapel hill trustees move to divert diversity program funds to police and public safety.

At a special meeting Monday morning, the board unanimously moved to reallocate the $2.3 million that the university spends on DEI programs toward police and other public safety measures as part of its annual budget approval process. The university’s operating budget totaled more than $4 billion in the previous fiscal year.

Board Chair David Boliek told The News & Observer he expected jobs would be eliminated as a result of the reallocation.

“My personal opinion is that there’s administrative bloat in the university,” he said. “… Any cuts in administration and diverting of dollars to rubber-meets-the-road efforts like public safety and teaching is important.”

Trustee Marty Kotis said law enforcement needed the money following pro-Palestinian campus protests that began last month and resulted in several arrests.

“It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations,” he said.

Boliek said the policy was in consideration before the protests began.

The move comes as the UNC Board of Governors, which governs all public universities in the state, is expected to vote on restricting DEI programs statewide next week. The board’s governance committee already passed the policy last month, but it must be approved by the full board before taking effect.

It is unclear exactly how the BOG policy, coupled with UNC’s decision to reallocate DEI funds, will affect university employees currently working in DEI positions.

Under the UNC System’s existing policy on diversity and inclusion, all schools in the university system are required, at a minimum, to employ one senior-level administrator who is responsible for “policy development and strategic planning to promote and advance” diversity and inclusion.

Under the proposed policy, the existing mandate for those positions would be eliminated, and university chancellors would have to certify to UNC System President Peter Hans by Sept. 1 that they have made appropriate changes on their campuses to comply with the proposal. That includes reporting any “reductions in force and spending, along with changes to job titles and position descriptions undertaken as a result of implementing” the policy, and how any “savings achieved” from those actions could be “redirected to initiatives related to student success and wellbeing.”

If the BOG approves the policy, UNC System legal staff are expected soon after to provide university leaders with guidance on how it should be implemented and what steps the schools should take to comply.

Under the system’s existing diversity policy and accompanying regulation, universities are required to produce annual reports to their campus-level governing boards detailing, among other information, major diversity-related programs they sponsor and the number of employees who spend at least half of their work time on diversity efforts.

UNC’s most recent report, which covers the 2021-22 fiscal year and was obtained by The News & Observer through a public records request, shows that the university spent a little more than half of the $2.3 million on personnel expenditures, with positions ranging from a chief diversity officer, to the director of the campus LGBTQ center, to the director of rural initiatives at the university’s School of Medicine, among others.

While the BOG’s policy appears to allow for existing DEI positions to be reworked into new jobs without explicit ties to diversity, the vote to remove those funds at UNC-Chapel Hill could increase the likelihood that the positions are eliminated entirely at that campus.

UNC Chief Financial Officer Nate Knuffman previously told the university’s Board of Trustees at a March meeting that the university’s spending on diversity-related personnel was only “a small fraction of the university overall spending on personnel.”

All campuses in the UNC System submit their annual budget proposals to the BOG for approval each year. In addition to voting on the policy that would restrict DEI programs and employment positions across the university system, Knuffman said the BOG is set to review the budget proposals at its meetings next week.

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Spartan Alert

Cas faculty international travel re-cap 2023 – 2024.

Posted on May 20, 2024

Each year, the CAS Office of Research supports faculty members’ international travel through our International Travel Fund. The program provides up to $1,000 in matching funds for tenured or tenure-track faculty to travel abroad for research or conference presentations. (Faculty on phased retirement are eligible for reduced match of $500.) Typically, faculty who apply to our fund will first obtain funding from the International Programs Center , because IPC funds can be used as the match. Travel funding from both CAS OOR and IPC is limited and applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. Find the CAS ITF fund application on our Funding page.

So far in 2023 – 2024, the CAS International Travel Fund has supported travel by 11 faculty members from 7 different departments, with support promised to 4 additional faculty through June 2024. Learn about their journeys below.

SUMMER 2023

Professor Stuart Dischell (English) traveled to France to give a public reading from his collaborative book Andalusian Visions at the Paris Institute for Critical Thought. Dischell was accompanied by his collaborators, French photographer Cyril Caine, and Swiss translator and experimental musician Laurent Estoppey. He also traveled to Sete, France where he did research that yielded a chapter of his travel book on the city and its famous poets. The piece was subsequently published in The Adroit Journal . 

Professor Anatoly Miroshnichenko (Physics and Astronomy)  traveled to Slovakia to attend an international conference at the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences on the use of meter-class telescopes. The conference took place in the mountains near the border of Slovakia and Poland near the Scalnate Pleso Observatory, high in the Vysoky Tatry mountains. Dr. Miroshnichenko was a member of the Scientific Organizing Committee and presented an invited talk, including results of observations taken at the Three College Observatory.

Ignacio López, Associate Professor of Spanish, (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures) traveled to the University of Jaén, Spain to participate in the international conference on “Courtly Discourses of the Early Modern.” Dr. Lopez received feedback on his conference presentation that he says was “instrumental” in transforming the presentation into an article titled “Literary Leisure and the Construction of the Courtier’s Identity in the Sixteenth Century.” The article is now under review in RILCE: Revista de Filología Hispánica , one of the top journals in Hispanic Studies. Through contacts made at the event, Dr. Lopez was invited to lead a one-week graduate seminar at the University of Bordeaux in Spring 2025.

Professor Derek Krueger (Religious Studies) traveled to Vancouver, Canada for the annual conference of the Byzantine Studies Association of North America. Dr. Krueger organized two panels on Religious Life in Byzantium and gave a paper on the veneration of icons as a religious practice in the 9th through 11th centuries. Krueger reported, “The energy from the sessions was so good that we’ll be organizing panels for the 2024 conference and a colloquium at the Center for Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC.”

Veronica Grossi, Associate Professor of Spanish, (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures) traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico to a present a paper at a conference hosted by the University of Guadalajara, Biblioteca Octavio Paz, and the University of California, UC Mexicanistas. She also participated in various activities organized by the literary journal Luvina , where she is part of the editorial board.

Alyssa Gabbay, Associate Professor, (Religious Studies) traveled to Montreal, Canada for the Middle East Studies Association’s annual meeting. There she presented a paper called “Around Iran in 400 Days: Heshmat Moayyad’s Yad-i Yaran,” in a panel on “Baha’i History, Texts, and Contexts.” Using close textual analysis, the paper analyzed a memoir written by scholar Heshmat Moayyad describing his travels to more than 30 cities, villages and towns in central and southern Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain from 1948-1950 on behalf of the Baha’i Faith, and offered an assessment of its value as a resource both for those studying the history of the Baha’i Faith and that of 20th-century Iran.

Prashanti Manda, Associate Professor, (Informatics and Analytics) traveled to Goa University in India where she presented research at the prestigious 20th International Conference on Natural Language Processing. Participating in this leading conference provided a valuable opportunity to connect with and forge collaborations with prominent researchers from Southeast Asia. For example, Dr. Manda is currently exploring exciting possibilities for PhD student recruitment from Goa University.

Sadia Khalil, Visiting Assistant Professor, (Mathematics and Statistics) traveled to School of Natural Sciences (NUST) in Islamabad, Pakistan where she gave an invited talk — “An Optional Quantitative Mixture RRT Model that Accounts for the Lack of Trust.” The session was part of the 2nd International Conference on Recent Trends in Statistics & Data Analytics.

Professor Sat Gupta (Mathematics and Statistics) traveled to Rohtak, India to give a keynote talk on THE EFFECT OF MEASUREMENT ERROR ON BINARY RRT MODEL at the International Conference on Statistics, Data Science and Reliability, hosted by Maharshi Dayanand University. During the event, Dr. Gupta was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the India Association of Statistics and Reliability for his long list of significant contributions to the field of Statistics.

SPRING 2024

Professor Anthony Cuda (English) traveled to London, England to direct the special winter session of the prestigious T. S. Eliot International Summer School, a global venue for research and scholarship on the Nobel Prize Laureate T. S. Eliot. The Winter Session is a smaller, one day version of the weeklong July summer school, designed to bring researchers and students together from around the world to discuss the latest work on Eliot in a particular field. This year the winter gathering was co-facilitated by Dr. Cuda and John Haffenden, renowned editor of the 9-volume edition of Eliot’s letters. The group convened at the University of London, School of Advanced Studies, with participants from Brazil, Ireland, the US, England, and Italy.

Sally Koerner, Associate Professor, (Biology) traveled to South Africa to attend the Savanna Science Networking Meeting in the iconic Kruger National Park, along with three graduate students. Dr. Koerner and grad students Shelby Williford and Rose Terry each presented posters to an internationally renowned group of scientists from and working in savannas around the globe. While the meeting is chock-full of scientific presentations, its main goal is to build connections amongst savanna scientists, foster a community, and stimulate future ideas. Their work was received well, and the meeting opened up new collaborative possibilities.

Photos in this post were provided by the faculty travelers.

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