[Plsfaculty] Fellowship Funds - update

[Mark A Beilstein]

Hi All,

I am just off a Zoom meeting with Leslie Bonilla and Amanda Stevens. We
discussed the foundation accounts intended to support students in our
graduate programs. It was an enlightening meeting and I want to update
everyone on a couple of things I learned.

1. There are several foundation accounts that are linked to SPLS, only a
portion of which are appropriate for supporting students. One concern is
that one of the other endowment accounts has been used to support our
students in error and thus the account balances we all have now seen are
not accurate. I'm sure that won't surprise anyone. Amanda and Leslie are
working to straighten this out and to get accurate balances.

2. The foundation accounts are considered "unrestricted" funds and the
current UA policy is to limit the use of such funds when restricted funds
(such as grant accounts) are available to pay students. It may be possible
to make more targeted payments for specific students, but we must first
wait for accurate balances.

3. It may be possible to fund some GTAs from foundation accounts. I was
surprised to learn this and I noted to Amanda and Leslie that *it would be
helpful to see the donor agreements*. We cannot effectively allocate funds
without knowing the parameters under which the money can/must be spent.

I am hopeful that we can get a better handle on these accounts so that we
can honor donor wishes. I take full responsibility for the proposal I
generated and presented to the GSPC and at faculty meeting. My goal is to
support students, faculty, and the unit as a whole. I hope that Amanda and
Leslie can help us gain the knowledge and information we need to make
effective decisions. I want to thank Amanda and Leslie for taking the time
to meet with me and to help clarify these points.

Thanks,
Mark
___________________
Mark Beilstein, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director of Graduate Studies
Bart Cardon Fellow
School of Plant Sciences
P.O. Box 210036
Forbes Building, Room 303
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
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