Baylor PI Newsletter - November 2, 2026

Upcoming Changes to Grant Budgets and F&A Distribution 

As Baylor's research enterprise continues to grow, we are updating how research-generated funds are distributed to better support faculty scholarship, graduate student research and the long-term sustainability of research operations. While these changes will affect how future grant budgets are developed, they are designed to preserve discretionary support available to faculty and academic units while ensuring Baylor can continue investing in the infrastructure and services that support research success.

Beginning Jan. 4, 2027, proposals for external funding that include graduate students will be required to budget graduate student tuition at a rate of $15,000 per full-time graduate student per year. This will prepare the path for a key date of June 1, 2027, when we officially begin to charge grad student tuition within the grants. Existing grants will not be affected, though principal investigators may choose to revise current ongoing budgets to include charges for graduate tuition on or after June 1, where sponsor policies and grant terms allow.

At the same time, Baylor will begin a gradual transition in how discretionary research funds are generated and distributed. Over the next 2.5 years, a larger share of recovered Facilities & Administrative (F&A) dollars will be centralized to support research operations and infrastructure. As that occurs, graduate tuition revenue generated through sponsored projects will increasingly become the source of discretionary funding returned to principal investigators (PIs) and their academic units.

What the Transition Will Look Like

The transition will occur gradually to provide stability for faculty and academic units.

Next fiscal year (FY28; June 1, 2027, through May 31, 2028), there will be no change to discretionary funding returned to academic units. Principal investigators, departments and colleges will continue to receive distributions under the current F&A-based model.

Beginning in FY29, graduate tuition revenue generated through sponsored projects will begin flowing back to academic units. One-third of that revenue will be returned directly to the PI, and two-thirds will be returned to the corresponding dean's office for investment in departments and research activities. A faculty member supporting one full-time graduate research assistant through external funding, for example, would generate $5,000 per year in discretionary support for their research program.

Importantly, no principal investigator will receive less discretionary funding in FY29 than they would have received under the current F&A distribution model. However, faculty may receive more if graduate tuition revenue exceeds what would have been generated through F&A returns.

In FY30 and beyond, discretionary support for faculty and academic units will be generated entirely through graduate tuition revenue associated with externally funded research. 

Supporting Faculty, Graduate Students and Future Research Growth

Like many universities, Baylor must continue growing its research enterprise while carefully stewarding institutional resources. Today, Baylor relies more heavily on institutional funding to support research activities and graduate students than is common at many research-intensive universities. These changes are designed to shift a greater share of those costs to external funding sources while creating new opportunities for faculty support.

The model also reflects a long-term goal of increasing the number of graduate students supported through externally funded research, a hallmark of mature research universities. The new approach creates stronger incentives and greater opportunities to support graduate students through externally funded research while helping faculty build larger and more sustainable research programs.

At the same time, centralizing a larger share of F&A recovery will provide additional support for the research infrastructure and services that faculty depend on every day. The goal is not simply to maintain existing levels of support, but to create a funding model that can sustainably scale with research growth over time. Additional guidance will be provided as implementation moves forward, and answers to frequently asked questions can be found here. 

Changes to ONE-URC Awards and Announcing Baylor In Deeds Incubator Awards 

University Research Committee (URC) Standard Awards 

OVPR will provide two mechanisms through which Baylor faculty can apply for internal research funds during the 2026-27 academic year. The University Research Committee (URC) will award multiple $5,000 standard awards to individual faculty. Applications for these awards will be due March 19, 2027 at 11:59 p.m., and the University Research Committee will review the proposals. Funds will be available to spend from June 1, 2027 to May 31, 2028. See the URC website for Standard Award application details. 

OVPR is also launching the Baylor in Deeds Research Incubator Awards, a new initiative designed to build interdisciplinary research communities around areas of strategic importance to Baylor. For 2026–27, faculty may apply to participate in one of two incubators: Human Flourishing or Advanced Materials and Manufacturing. Details are provided on the Baylor in Deeds Incubator Awards website. 

Faculty Tip: You Don’t Need a Finished Proposal Before Contacting Pre-Award 

One of the most common misconceptions about proposal preparation is that faculty should wait until a proposal is nearly complete before reaching out to their Pre-Award URA. In fact, the Day 30 and Day 10 milestones in Baylor's 30-10-5-3 Internal Proposal Deadline Policy are intended as proposal initiation deadlines, not proposal completion deadlines. 

To get started, your URA typically needs basic information, such as: 

• Funding opportunity information 
• Project title 
• Anticipated project dates 
• Estimated budget 
• Personnel involved 
• Subrecipient information (if applicable) 

Once engaged, your URA can help interpret sponsor requirements, identify compliance considerations, develop budgets, coordinate institutional reviews, and navigate sponsor submission systems. Even if your project idea is still evolving, don't wait. It's much easier to build a strong proposal together from the beginning than to address challenges while racing against internal deadlines. Find your Pre-Award URA and reach out early. We're here to help. 

Holiday Deadlines for Proposal Submissions 

Thanksgiving Holiday Closure  

Baylor University will be closed from Wednesday, November 25 through Friday, November 27, 2026 in observance for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  To ensure sufficient time for internal review and approvals, the deadline for proposal submissions with due dates during the holiday is November 23, 2026. The University will resume normal operations on Monday, November 30, 2026.  

Winter Break Holiday Closure and Deadlines 

Baylor University will be closed for the Christmas Holidays from Thursday, December 24, 2026, through Friday, January 1, 2027. Proposal preparation and submissions will not occur during this time.  All proposals that are due to the sponsor from December 18, 2026 through January 5th will need to be completed and submitted to OVPR by Friday, December 11, 2026 (Day 5) for submission on Friday, December 18, 2026. 

Please plan accordingly and work with your Pre-Award URA for routing, approvals, and coordination with external institutions. 

Holiday Deadlines for Proposals with Subawards 

To support the timely review and submission of proposals, projects involving outgoing subawards must be initiated 30 business days before the sponsor deadline to comply with Baylor's 30-10-5-3 Internal Proposal Deadline Policy. Coordination with subrecipient institutions requires sufficient lead time to obtain required documents, budgets, and approvals. As the holiday season approaches, faculty are encouraged to begin planning early to ensure sufficient time to collect subrecipient materials and meet internal deadlines. 

Selected sponsor deadlines and their corresponding Day 30 internal deadlines are provided below to assist with planning: 

Welch Foundation Research Grant Competition Opens

Welch Foundation Proposal Research Grant competition opens November 1, 2026, with proposals due Sunday, January 31, 2027.  Because the sponsor deadline falls on a weekend, Baylor’s Day 5 internal deadline will be Friday, January 22, 2027.   

Faculty planning to submit a Welch proposal are encouraged to engage with their Pre-Award URA as early as possible to allow adequate time for proposal preparation, budget development, and institutional review. To discuss your proposal plans and ensure all internal deadlines are met, please contact your Pre-Award URA. 

Updated Lab Visitor Policy 

The Lab Visitor Policy has been updated. Please read the policy to be aware of your responsibilities when visitors are accessing lab space. The policy supports the safety and security of laboratory spaces across campus by defining allowable visitors in such spaces and setting forth a framework for safe and secure visits. Overview of policy changes: 

• Defined categories of allowable lab visitors. 
• Expanded section on “minors in lab spaces” providing better guidance. 
• New sections on special case lab visitors and foreign national visitors. 
• Addresses the practice of “lab volunteers”. 
• Expanded section on lab security. 
• Updated to align with the current regulations and guidance on research security. 

ResearchMatch Recruitment Tool Reminder 

OVPR has partnered with ResearchMatch, a web-based tool that researchers can use to connect with people who are interested in learning about IRB-approved health-related research studies. There is no cost to Baylor Researchers to use ResearchMatch, which provides tools for researchers to:  

• Assess how many individuals in the registry meet the eligibility criteria for a study (i.e., feasibility) 
• View non-identifying demographic information, like gender and age, for individuals who meet study criteria 
• Add an IRB-approved recruitment message for the system to send to individuals who meet study criteria 
• Receive contact information (within the secure ResearchMatch system) when individuals grant permission to be contacted about your study 
• Track enrollment metrics  

For additional information, visit here or contact IRB@baylor.edu . 

Workshops 

Nov. 13th A&H & Business Faculty: Finding Grants and Getting Started in Grant Writing: Learn how to find and use Baylor resources for finding grants for faculty who are not in STEM, and the basics of applying for grants at Baylor. Receive a digital copy of the Baylor Grant Writing Handbook, learn how to get help with editing, and how to schedule one-on-one consults. 

• November 13^th from 12-1 Teams or in-person at the Hankamer Business School, FOS conference room 211 
• Register here: https://baylor.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ageMuzEhV8vbWCO  

Funding Opportunities 

Dr. Benjamin F. Brown IV Fund for Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Scholarship 

Full-time faculty across the university are invited to apply for the Brown Fellowship, which provides support to research or curriculum-development projects that are collaborative, interdisciplinary, and of global significance.   Multiple awards of up to $25,000 are available, and applications are due by November 16, 2026. For more details, visit the Baylor in Washington Website. 

Lilly Endowment Inc. has posted three open initiatives that are limited submissions: Serving Neighbors Through Congregational Collaborations, National Initiative to Strengthen Christian Campus Ministries at Colleges and Universities, and National Initiative to Strengthen Chaplaincies as College and Universities.   

• Baylor’s University Chaplain will be submitting to the chaplaincy initiative, so faculty interested in partnering with the chaplain's office should email Stephanie Mabry by November 2nd for an invitation to a meeting to hear about ways to support the proposal.  
• OVPR will host limited submission competitions for the other two calls per the Limited Submission Procedure. Faculty interested in applying to the Serving Neighbors Through Congregational Collaborations or the National Initiative to Strengthen Christian Campus Ministries at Colleges and Universities requests should email a pre-proposal to research@baylor.edu by Monday, November 16th that includes the following: a) a completed application form, b) a 1-2 page pre-proposal outlining the proposed projects and its relevance to the goals of the sponsor, and c) a CV for each proposed investigator.