Junior Faculty Dependent Care
Full-time, tenure-track, VU-employed, junior faculty in schools/colleges reporting to the Provost are eligible for grants to help defray out-of-pocket qualified dependent care expenses incurred during travel that advances professional and academic endeavors, including research meetings (The Junior Faculty Dependent Care Travel Grant), for which funds from any other external source are not being provided. A maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for such expenses per fiscal year (July 1- June 30) is allowed per eligible faculty member. Faculty members must provide documentation of their trip within two weeks of the end of travel, and the grant funding is issued after travel is completed. All applications must be made before June 1stof the fiscal year in which travel occurs. For expenses incurred in June of a given fiscal year, or if travel is not completed and documentation not submitted by the June 1stdeadline, the grant will count towards the next fiscal year’s $1000.00 cap.
The application should provide sufficient information about the professional and/or academic endeavor and qualifying circumstances (see below), as well as the grant amount requested at time of application, in increments of one hundred dollars ($100.00), but not to exceed the limit of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per fiscal year. The amount awarded will be included in the applicant’s monthly paycheck and is considered additional taxable compensation, subject to withholding and reporting for federal income and employment taxes and will be reported as such on the faculty member’s IRS Form W-2 for the calendar year in which the Junior Faculty Dependent Care Travel Grant was made.
Qualifications
A dependent is defined as:
- An unmarried individual age seventeen (17) or younger who regularly resides with the applicant and for whom the applicant provides primary support for; or
- An individual of any age that is unable to care for themselves, due to physical or mental issues, who spends at least eight (8) hours per day in the applicant’s home and for whom the applicant provides primary support for.
Eligible Expenses
Covered expenses may include (1) extra-ordinary, unusual or additional dependent care expenses at home while the faculty member is traveling, (2) the cost of transporting the dependent and/or caregiver to a conference/meeting location or a research site, and/or (3) on-site dependent care at a conference/meeting.
Expenses will be covered for single parents or guardians, individuals whose dependent is nursing or has a medical need to travel with the faculty member, and faculty members whose co-parent or co-guardian is employed and not available for normal non-working hour dependent care due to employment obligations or other extenuating circumstances. Recipients must certify that funds requested for dependent care are due to travel for academic and university business only, and are above and beyond normal dependent care expenses (for example, beyond normal day care or adult care costs).
Travel Grant Program Limitations
The Junior Faculty Dependent Care Travel Grant Program depends upon the availability of institutional funds. The program may be modified or discontinued at any time without further notice at the discretion of the Provost. A grant does not constitute a contract of employment and may be made in an amount and manner solely determined by and consistent with the policies of Vanderbilt University.
Questions about The Junior Faculty Dependent Care Travel Grant Program should be directed to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, vpf@vanderbilt.edu.
The online application form can be found and completed here.