URC Paid Leave Program

Purpose

The URC paid leave program supports research projects that would be difficult or impossible to undertake without suspension of other contractual responsibilities. URC leaves support only research activities in the interest of faculty development; other forms of leave (e.g., for illness, personal reasons, or a temporary position elsewhere) should be handled through college offices.

Financial Implications

Paid leaves are granted for one quarter or one semester at full pay, for two quarters at up to 83% of normal salary, or 50% of the normal contract salary for a full year leave (i.e. three quarters or two semesters, depending).  In all cases, salary reductions will be spread over the entirety of the fiscal year in which the leave occurs, as a means to evenly distribute the salary reduction for faculty.  A faculty member who accepts a paid leave at less than full pay is understood to be amending his/her annual contract.

Planning

Planning within the various academic units is necessary. Faculty should notify their department chairperson and other appropriate administrators of their intention to apply for a leave. To ensure university-wide equitable distribution of leaves, such participation should be encouraged and enabled for all academic units. If possible, junior faculty should take advantage of this leave in advance of their tenure review. Faculty are encouraged to attend the leave orientation workshop offered in the fall to be aware of the eligibility requirements and application procedures. Faculty are expected to follow the How to Apply section below and submit all requested information. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Faculty members planning a leave should consider external sources of funding as well as the QIC and URC programs. External fellowship deadlines usually occur 18 to 24 months before the intended start-date of the fellowship. Therefore, faculty should start planning for a paid leave 2 years before the planned leave. Faculty members are encouraged to contact the Office of Research Services for assistance with external funding.

Eligibility

Pre-tenure leaves

Full-time tenure-track probationary faculty are eligible to apply for a URC paid leave if they will have completed two consecutive years of full-time tenure-track service at DePaul as of the time that the requested leave will commence. Tenure-track probationary faculty may receive only one pre-tenure leave.

Post-tenure leaves

Full-time tenured faculty are eligible to apply for a paid leave if they will have completed six years of full-time tenure-track service at DePaul by the time the requested leave will commence. Full-time tenured faculty previously awarded a QIC paid leave or a URC paid leave may take another leave after having completed at least three years in residence at DePaul. (This three-year period begins immediately after the completion of the prior leave.) In addition, no individual may receive more than a total of three quarters or two semesters of leave during a six-year period. (The six-year period starts when the first leave begins). 

All leave applicants, whether pre- or post-tenure, are expected to have fulfilled the reporting requirements for projects previously supported by the University Councils.

Application Deadlines

Applications must be submitted by December 15th in the academic year preceding the academic year of the requested leave.  For example, applications for paid leaves to be taken during the 2025-2026 academic year are due by December 15, 2024.   Letters of support from the applicant's chair (if applicable) and dean are due no later than December 21st.

How to Apply

Paid leave proposals are accepted on-line via the Blackbaud proposal system.  Click here for instructions on navigating to it.  If you have followed the instructions but do not appear to have access to the system, write to URC@depaul.edu.

To be considered complete, a paid leave proposal must include the following:

• ​Tenure review year.

• Details of past paid leaves taken (Year and terms).
• Terms requested for paid leave.
  

• Title of the project to be undertaken during the paid leave.

• Abstract — A one-paragraph overview of the project.

• Work plan & timeline — The work plan and timeline should be thorough, realistic, and feasible. Further, the expected outcomes for the project should be clearly specified.

• External support — The applicant should identify any external support being received for the project.
  

• Narrative —  A narrative of approximately 5 – 6 single-spaced pages should describe the project clearly, in language that is as non-technical as possible. It should establish the need for the project and include a clear description of its goals and objectives. Further, the narrative should explain the relationship between the project and the applicant's teaching, research, and/or service interests. References (not included in the above page total) should be appended to the narrative as needed.  (Applicants will be asked to attach the narrative in the application.  This must be in PDF format.)

• Current CV.  The CV should list all publications, highlighting those that are relevant to the project in the application.  (The CV is attached to the application in PDF format.)

• Letters of support from the applicant’s chair (if applicable) and dean.  Names and email addresses must be submitted into Blackbaud.  Once the proposal has been submitted, an email notification is sent to the chair/dean with a link to submit their letter.  All letters must be submitted within one week of the application deadline, therefore it is recommended to submit proposals prior to the deadline to give chairs/deans ample time. 

Expectations and Requirements of Recipients