Basic Science Faculty Salary Incentive Program

Beginning in FY 2019, the School of Medicine and Public Health implemented a school-wide salary incentive program compensation model for research faculty who do not engage in clinical activities. The program applies to faculty in both basic science as well as clinical departments. This model recognizes faculty who excel in research, in addition to other academic activities, with a base salary adjustment for the duration of one year, or the provision of departmental discretionary research funds, based on objective measures of overall performance.

• Incentive program is available to tenure-track basic science faculty in SMPH basic science or clinical departments who have a minimum 50% appointment with SMPH 
• For Faculty with joint appointments in other UW schools/colleges, incentive only applies to their SMPH salary component
• For Faculty with joint appointments in multiple SMPH departments, all departments should confirm support of the nomination for an award
• Typically, faculty members who are dual-employed with UWMF and/or whose compensation is established via the departmental compensation plan are not eligible
• Emeritus and visiting faculty are not eligible for this program
• Faculty with partial leaves for VA activities are eligible as long as their SMPH appointment is 50% or greater

Successful candidates must also meet basic eligibility requirements: 

• No recent or ongoing issues concerning professionalism
• Responsible stewardship of research funds 
• Completion of required UW-Madison and SMPH compliance training
• If a supervisor, completion of required midpoint evaluations

To qualify for the faculty incentive program, basic science faculty must demonstrate outstanding achievement in at least three of five critical activities.

• Maintain a high degree of effort on peer-reviewed extramural grants (required)
• Research mentoring and teaching
• Publication of high impact publications in journals appropriate to the discipline
• Leadership in relevant national organizations, e.g., NIH review groups, foundations
• Exceptional service in SMPH, e.g., graduate program leadership, EPCC, WPP, medical student admissions

Fiscal Year 2027:

• Annual calls for nominations will be issued from the SMPH Compensation Team
• Candidate’s department chair submits a nomination by May 11, 2026 for implementation on June 28, 2026; the nomination must provide evidence that the candidate meets the review criteria
• Nominations are reviewed and decisions are made by the Dean or the Dean’s designee(s)
• Incentive allowances are temporary and will be renewed annually as long as the review criteria are met. Nominations must be submitted for award participants annually.
• Nominations will be submitted via a Qualtrics Survey response.

• If 60% of salary (up to NIH cap) is paid on extramural grants and high achievement is documented in other areas, candidate will receive a temporary work allowance equal to 8% of UW base salary up to the NIH cap (currently $225,700)
• Alternatively, if 75% of salary (up to NIH cap) is paid on extramural grants and high achievement is documented in other areas, candidate will receive a temporary work allowance equal to 16% of UW base salary up to the NIH cap

• Incentive allowances are in addition to annual or “high demand” increases in salary
• Allowances are implemented only once annually, for the subsequent fiscal year (26 bi-weekly pay periods)
• The proposed allowance levels will be prorated for faculty who do not have a 100% appointment with SMPH
• Faculty with partial leaves for VA activities are eligible as long as their SMPH appointment is 50% or greater
• Incentive allowances may be taken as discretionary research funds rather than salary
• Compensation received as part of a K-award or foundation-sponsored career development awards do not count toward total salary on extramural grants and cannot be used to qualify for an incentive allowance

Program Highlights

• Award allowances will be determined as part of an annual evaluation and planning process for the following fiscal year.
• The program is effective for tenure-track faculty who do not engage in patient care activities nor have employment with the UW Medical Foundation. Emeritus and visiting faculty are not eligible. In special cases, CHS-track faculty without patient care activities may be eligible. Faculty who also have appointments at the Veteran’s Administration may be eligible if they do not engage in patient care activities and have a UW FTE of at least 0.5.
• Determination of the compensation or support amounts will be based on a holistic review of faculty merit. The amounts will not solely be based on a formulaic calculation.
• This program is available to faculty with a minimum 0.5 FTE appointment in the School of Medicine & Public Health, including leaves. If an individual has appointments both in SMPH and in another school or college, this program will only impact the SMPH portion of their appointment. For faculty with total appointments less than 1.0 FTE, award allowances will be pro-rated for the individual’s appointment level.
• The nomination process must be completed every year, even if a faculty member is receiving added compensation in the current year.

Submitting Nominations:

Nominations must be submitted via Qualtics by May 11, 2026

• To review a copy of the survey prior to submission you can access a PDF version here: Basic Science Faculty Incentive Survey Example - PDF

Qualtrics survey tool for submitted nominations can be found at this link: FY 27 Basic Sciences Faculty Salary Incentive Nomination Form