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Are You Eligible to Be a Principal Investigator (PI)?
Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators have primary institutional responsibility for providing scientific/technical leadership and administrative and financial management of sponsored projects. As such, the University has designated the following personnel as eligible to serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on sponsored projects*:
- All full-time faculty regardless of academic rank
- Visiting faculty/visiting scientists during the time they are on the University payroll
- Full-time, academic non-administrative professionals in classified positions at or above Level 15
- Others as designated by the approval of the appropriate college dean and Vice Provost for Research using the approval form.
* Principal Investigator/Co-Principal Investigator status may be rescinded for cause.
If an exception is made to make someone an eligible PI and that person isn't a full-time University employee, the chair or dean must be a co-PI on all proposals for that person.
Retired Faculty Serving as Principal Investigators
Some faculty members wish to continue their research programs after retirement from the University, but do not qualify for status as principal investigators because they are no longer full-time UD employees). Retired faculty members may apply for PI status using the existing Research Office approval form.
If the request is approved, retired faculty members may serve initially as co-PIs on proposals with a full-time faculty member as PI (this would typically be the department chair or another senior faculty member). If the proposal is funded and the retired faculty member is hired to work on that grant as a full-time employee, he or she may then serve as the PI during the life of the grant. At the time of hiring, the retired faculty member may be appointed to an appropriate professional staff position (such as, for example, senior research fellow), but under no conditions may be re-hired on the faculty (as, for example, a research professor).
