PDR Fund

Faculty Professional Development and Research (PDR) Funding

2026 - 2027

Eligibility and Process for PDR Fund Allocation

Information Video

This link is a 4 minute recorded overview of this webpage and instructions (the video webpage is slightly different as the travel authorization/request procedure was updated on August 27, 2026; this website has the most current information).

Funding

The College has reserved $60,000 for PDR funding in Research Foundation, split between Fall & Spring funding rounds. Eligible faculty will receive an email with a link to a Google Form. If you have submitted an abstract for oral or poster presentation at a scholarly/professional conference but have not yet had an abstract accepted, please complete the Google Form and provide as much information as possible. Please complete the Google Form by Friday, October 2, 2026 by 5pm Pacific.
Tenure-track and tenured faculty who do not have department funding or existing research funding, have exhausted their start-up funds, and have had an abstract accepted for presentation (for an oral presentation or poster) at a scholarly/academic or professional conference or an invitation to participate as a keynote speaker may request up to $1,500 in PDR funding in AY 2026-2027.
Lecturer faculty will also be considered for up to $500 in PDR funding in AY 2026-2027, given that they do not have department funding, and have an abstract accepted for presentation at a professional/research conference or an invitation to participate as a keynote speaker.

Restrictions

Faculty on leave of absence or sabbatical are not eligible for the PDR fund. (Faculty who are on partial leave remain eligible. Please reach out to

Associate Dean for Research about partial leaves and PDR requests.)

Requirements

All expenditures must be pre-approved in order to receive reimbursement (please see instructions below). Faculty should not make purchases and expect reimbursement if they did not receive pre-approval.
Funds must be spent in compliance with all University policies and reimbursement must be requested within 15 days after the trip and must be spent and processed by June 30, 2027 to ensure reimbursement. If your travel is in July or August 2027, please reach out to Associate Dean for Research.

Review and Approval

Eligible faculty will be emailed a link at the start of Fall and Spring semesters to complete the request for PDR funds (using a Google Forms link). Eligible faculty must confirm that they requested and were not allocated any department funds. Eligible faculty must provide a screenshot or PDF of the email of the accepted abstract for the conference (or provide as much information as possible if the abstract has not yet been accepted by the conference organizers).
Faculty may only receive funding once during AY 2026-2027 to present at one conference. The funding cannot be divided to support more than one trip.
Requests will be reviewed for financial appropriateness by the CoSS Dean’s Office. The Associate Dean for Research will notify faculty via email regarding the status PDR funding approval.
International trips will require travel insurance using the Research Foundation funds. Funding requests for international trips will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis.

Expenses not covered by CoSS PDR Funding

Costs related to self-publishing of books, websites, blogs
Computers, computer components and peripherals (e.g. keyboards, mice, monitors, microphones, modems, webcams, printers, scanners)
Office supplies available from SJSU (e.g. pens, printer access, paper)
Furniture
Salary, including student, staff, and faculty
Events, including honorarium, travel, or other expenses for internal or external speakers

How to submit a Travel Request for approval before incurring any expenses

PDR Funds Only: Faculty using only PDR Funds for travel must submit a travel request using the Request for Approval of Travel form before you book travel or incur any expenses. The form requires you to state the purpose of the trip and estimated expenses, and must be signed by you as the traveler, direct supervisor (Chair/Director for faculty/instructors, Associate Dean for Research for Chairs/Director), and account signer (Associate Dean for Research) via DocuSign/AdobeSign. For more detailed information regarding approvals, please review Section 5 of the Research Foundation Travel Policy. Please note that this is a Research Foundation policy and is separate from the University’s travel policy and SAP Concur processes.
- After all signatures are received:
  - SJSU faculty with Workday access: Attach the approved form to a Spend Authorization request in Workday (PDR fund program account number: PR5516000018) and submit.
  - SJSU faculty without Workday access: Submit the approved form to Foundation-Travel-Desk@sjsu.edu, ricky.yoneda@sjsu.edu, and cc emily.gonzalezalcala@sjsu.edu and your department analyst.
  - For international travel, copy the Research Foundation Risk Manager, currently Michael.lok@sjsu.edu and the University Risk Manager, Karen Vogler Karen.Vogler@sjsu.edu to obtain the required travel insurance.
  - After you have submitted your signed Request for Approval of Travel form using the procedure above, you should pay for your travel expenses with personal credit cards and then request reimbursement through Workday (please see below). You should request reimbursement within 15 days after you return.

PDR and Tower Foundation Funds: Faculty using both PDR Funds and Tower Foundation funds (grants or fellowships through philanthropic funds) must submit two Request for Approval of Travel forms (one for Research Foundation and one for Tower Foundation) before you book travel or incur any expenses.
- After all signatures are received:
  - For Research Foundation, follow the PDR funds only instructions above to submit the Request for Approval of Travel form.
  - For Tower Foundation, submit the approved Request for Approval of Travel form to TowerAP-Group@sjsu.edu, and cc emily.gonzalezalcala@sjsu.edu and your department analyst.

PDR and Statewide Funds: Faculty using both PDR Funds and stateside funds (department/school funds) must submit both the Research Foundation's Request for Approval of Travel form for the proportion of travel expenses that will use PDR funding following the procedure above for PDR funds only, and Concur for any stateside funds to be used for reimbursement of travel expenses.
- Using Concur: Please review this guide for instructions (you must set up a Concur profile before submitting a request for travel approval through Concur; go to your one.SJSU dashboard and select "Concur" and you will be directed to the CSU system platform).
  - Submit Travel Request before booking (must be approved prior to booking or incurring any reimbursable expenses). Upload supporting documentation (if applicable):
    - Conference agenda where your name appears or abstract acceptance
    - Cost estimates/cost comparison (airfare, mileage, lodging, registration, local transportation)
    - Verify the travel allowance (per diem rate) for your travel destination.
    - After you have submitted your Concur travel request, and the Concur travel request has been approved, you may book travel through Concur ONLY if you are using stateside (non-Research Foundation or non-Tower Foundation) funds for part of your travel reimbursement/funding. As of August 12, 2026, Concur travel services are unable to reserve conference rate hotel rooms (you would need to reserve lodging at conference rates with your personal credit card). You should submit your PDR fund reimbursement request (up to $1,500) through Workday (please see below), and the stateside proportion of the travel expenses through Concur (you can directly upload the receipts to the Concur site). Please submit receipts and request reimbursement to Concur within 15 days after you return. Please make sure that you do not duplicate any expenses in Workday and Concur.

How to request Travel Reimbursement through Workday (PDR fund only)

(not more than 15 days after you return)

Non-Research Foundation (RF) Employees

For faculty who are not Principal Investigators (PIs; i.e., not an employee of the SJSU Research Foundation), you will need to complete the Travel and Reimbursement Request form with Program # 5516000018, please also attach: (1) the signed Request for Approval of Travel as a PDF document, (2) the email from the Associate Dean for Research approving the PDR award as a PDF document, (3) accepted abstract or name in program as PDF document, and (4) all receipts. If claiming per diem, make a copy the Employee Travel Claim Worksheet and complete the worksheet. Route all the forms via DocuSign/AdobeSign for Associate Dean for Research approval. In the DocuSign/AdobeSign, please cc research-foundation-ap@sjsu.edu, ricky.yoneda@sjsu.edu, emily.gonzalezalcala@sjsu.edu, and your department analyst.
Non-RF employees must be set up as a supplier to be reimbursed. Complete the New Supplier request form and send it to ricky.yoneda@sjsu.edu. Workday requires a tax ID for all suppliers. Contact research-foundation-ap@sjsu.edu, and they will send a secure link for you to complete the ACH Enrollment Form and W9 form.

Research Foundation Employees (current PIs on grants)

For faculty who are currently PIs (i.e., employees of Research Foundation who receive grant payments), you will need to submit for travel reimbursement via Workday (follow step 45-87), using our PDR fund program account number: PR5516000018. After using "Create Expense Report" in Workday, please attach: (1) the signed Request for Approval of Travel as a PDF document, (2) the email from the Associate Dean for Research approving the PDR award as a PDF document, (3) accepted abstract or name in program as PDF document, and (4) all receipts. If claiming per diem, complete the Employee Travel Claim Worksheet and upload the receipts in Workday. Please also attach the signed Request for Approval of Travel as a PDF document and the email from the Associate Dean for Research approving the PDR award.

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