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When You Are Leaving UF


Other than certain fellowships, most awards are made to the University of Florida, not to individual faculty or staff.  Therefore, when a faculty member leaves the University, it is a joint decision between the Department Chair/Center Director, Research Dean and the faculty member as to the disposition of each award.

In order to facilitate a conversation about what awards will remain at UF and which will be transferred to a new institution, faculty should notify their department grants support and DSP of their intentions as soon as they decide to leave. After you are notified that a faculty member is leaving, please fill out the Notification of Departing PI form and a member of DSP will reach out to assist you with this process.

When a faculty member leaves, they are responsible for closing out the project just as if the award had run to its natural end.  This includes approval of effort reports and submission of final progress, invention and property reports.

What happens to the funding?

Awards are made to the University of Florida and not to individual investigators.  The university in coordination with the investigator, college and university leadership make the decision to either keep it, allow it to transfer with the PI, or relinquish back to the sponsor.

If the University of Florida is transferring or relinquishing the award, the team will need to work to “closeout” the award in a timely fashion just as if the grant were fully ending. All pending invoices, travel reimbursements, and other expenditures need to be processed and paid from the appropriate projects. Subawards need to be notified of the new termination of the project at the University of Florida. The department team needs to work with the subaward contracting team to ensure that the appropriate modifications are made to the subaward to ensure that all expenses from the subaward can be paid from the award. Failure to take any of these steps could result in the unit being responsible for many transactions that can no longer be paid from the sponsored research project.

What happens to the lab assets?

Assets in the lab were provided to the University of Florida and not to individual investigators.  The university in coordination with the investigator, college and university leadership make the decision to either keep it, allow it to transfer with the PI, or to transfer to the sponsor. The assets in the lab need to be inventoried in coordination with your unit’s Property Custodian and Asset Management before the departing faculty member leaves the institution. The appropriate distribution of the assets of the lab is necessary to ensure that the University of Florida can meet its legal obligations to the sponsor in making sure items entrusted to the University are handled appropriately.

How do I transfer equipment purchased on Grants & Contracts?

Relinquished Grants & Contracts:

Equipment purchased on sponsored projects that are still active and that the PI, Chair and Dean determine will be transferred to the faculty’s new institution may be transferred without reimbursement for the cost of the equipment.  The PI may be charged for ancillary costs such as dismantling or shipping and handling costs which should be paid for by the new Institution.  If the equipment was purchased using funds from multiple projects, the determination will be made on a case by case basis.

Expired Grants & Contracts:

Equipment purchased on sponsored projects that are expired or on any other funds will be reviewed on a case by case basis with the PI, Chair, Center Director, Dean and Asset Management.

  • If without charge ancillary costs such as dismantling, shipping and handling costs should be paid for by the new institution.
  • If selling to the new institution it may involve having the sponsor approve the sale. Please coordinate with UF’s Asset Management and C&G Accounting.

Asset Management Forms

Complete the Asset Management Form: Donation Outside the University as Part of a Sponsored Agreement.

Provide a brief narrative why the equipment is being transferred or sold, then route for approvals.

What happens to all the specialty materials, chemicals, and animals?

Sometimes the departing faculty member has access to certain specialized items: data sets, tissue samples, or proprietary items from sponsors, etc. These items need to be reviewed to ascertain whether they should transfer with the departing faculty member, be retained by the University of Florida, or be returned to the sponsor. There also may be restrictions on how the items are transferred to ensure the privacy of the material and items is properly maintained.

The departing faculty member’s research needs to be reviewed for any special chemicals or materials. The appropriate groups at the Environmental Health and Safety, as well as Animal Care Services, need to be notified that the lab is moving to make sure that the chemicals are either transferred or disposed of properly and that any animal colonies are transferred and cared for appropriately.

What else should I review?