Research Support

Faculty Support Team

Faculty Assistant Direct Support

Each faculty member at Northwestern University School of Law is matched with a faculty assistant committed to providing ongoing instructional and professional support. Please visit the faculty assignment list for contact information.

Faculty may count on their designated assistants for a wide range of instructional support: 

  • Course material preparation

  • Blackboard assistance

  • A/V and classroom equipment requests

  • Ordering books

  • Ordering office supplies

  • Reserving spaces for meetings and events

  • Classroom seating charts

  • Clerkship letter assistance

  • Submitting events to the faculty calendar

  • Proctoring exams

as well as professional support:

  • Travel arrangements and reimbursements

  • Event coordination and preparation

  • Formatting or editing documents for publication

  • Professional membership renewals

       

Research Accounts

The majority of faculty members receive an annual allocation to support their research needs.  Funds are deposited at the beginning of an appointment or at the start of each fiscal year, with unused dollars from the previous fiscal year rolling over to the current year, up to the annual allocated amount. 

Most costs that directly support research or professional development may be reimbursed via research account dollars.  Here is a summary of the law school’s policy on allowable and unallowable charges for research accounts:

Allowable Charges

  •  Professional membership dues

  • Conference fees

  • Research assistants

  • Postage and shipping

  • Software and data sets (please consult the faculty computing policies)

  • Books and media relevant to research (tax not reimbursed with non-catalog vendors)

  • Research or conference-related travel expenses  (please consult the university’s travel policy)

  • Meals (alcohol not reimbursed)

  • Airfare

  • Car rentals (gas reimbursed)

  • Personal vehicle mileage (for longer-distance travel beyond the scope of commuting; reimbursed per mile according to published federal rates)

  • Taxi cabs, public transit costs, and parking

  • Hotels and fees

Unallowable Charges 

  • Meals with colleagues and working lunches, with some exceptions

  • Meals or coffee with students or buying food for a class, with few exceptions

  • Tax charges will not be reimbursed on goods and services when such charges are avoidable, as by using NU catalog vendors. Faculty should defer to their faculty assistants when considering vendors for a purchase.

There is a 90-day window to process reimbursements following the date of receipt;
exception forms are available when necessary.

      

Grant Support

Faculty are encouraged to seek external grant funding to support their research needs.  Please contact Molly Heiler  or Kelly Zoeckler if you are interested in pursuing grant funding.

   

Questions

All inquiries regarding faculty support, faculty assistants, research accounts, grant activity, etc. may be directed to:

 

Molly Heiler
Associate Director, Research & Administration
RB236
312-503-5354

Kelly Zoeckler
Faculty Support Coordinator
RB230
312-503-1413