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Key Office Contact Information

A resource developed for department leadership and faculty members to direct them to the correct offices in the School of Medicine and on Main Campus. This directory contains common reasons to contact each office, office descriptions, answers to common questions, and contact information. For comments and requests for additions to this list please contact Virginia Nadworny.

To search for key words in this directory please use the CTRL + F option on your keyboard. This will bring up a search bar that you can type in phrases like “HIPPA” or “Postdoc” and will display all offices with that word in their descriptions below.

Offices Included in This Resource


Communications and Technology Faculty Development and Support Learner Support and Success
Communications Office

SOM Information Technology (IT)

Center for Faculty Excellence

Employee Assistance Program

Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development

Biomedical Science Training and Research (BioSTAR) Office

International Student and Scholar Service

Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

 

Registrars Office

Student Affairs Development Office

Training Initiatives in Biomedical & Biological Sciences (TIBBS)

Policy Compliance and Human Resources Research Administration and Compliance
Carolina Ready

Environment, Health, and Safety

SOM Human Resources

Physician Compliance Office

Concur

Health Privacy Office

Ombuds

University Compliance Office

Compliance and Research Integrity

Office of Animal Care and Use

Office of Research

Sponsored Programs Office

Export Compliance Office

Office of Human Research Ethics

Office of Research Technologies

Office of Technology Commercialization


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Biomedical Science Training and Research (BioSTAR) Office – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. To obtain broad information about the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program (BBSP); e.g.

recruitment and admissions (application review and interviews) efforts;

process for faculty/department affiliation with BBSP;

mentorship, advisement, and general info regarding oversight of year 1 graduate students (including thesis lab and PhD program selection; research success course curriculum including NIH-mandated responsible conduct of research, rigor & reproducibility, and ethics trainings)

2. Mentor training workshops – for faculty mentors and bench mentors who train and/or supervise undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate trainees
3. Support for trainees
4. Training Program directors

About the Office
The Biomedical Science Training and Research (BioSTAR) Office (formerly the Office of Graduate Education) supports the development of future biomedical science leaders across the spectrum of their careers: undergraduate research interns, postbaccs, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, lab staff, and faculty. The office promotes innovative recruitment and training, stimulates purposeful career development, removes barriers to success, and fosters a collaborative research community.
Office Website: https://bbsp.unc.edu/

Contact Email: Dr. Donita Robinson, Associate Dean for Graduate Education: DLR@unc.edu

Carolina Ready – Campus (Risk Management)

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Certificate of Insurance Coverage Requests for Events
2. Inquiries on insurance for Leased Equipment (as required by contract)
3. Mandatory International Travel Coverage

About the Office
Carolina Ready serves as the liaison between campus and the NC Department of Insurance & state’s agent of record.

Professional Liability for SOM is managed by the UNC Liability Insurance Trust Fund and administered by UNC Health Risk Management.

All other insurance inquiries belong to this office.

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Leadership development
2. Mentor training program and consultation
3. Generative AI support for teaching and learning

About the Office
The CFE serves the entire campus, including health affairs and SOM faculty. This office provides similar services to the SOM Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development.

Program access is easy and the CFE will meet faculty where they are.

Office Website: https://cfe.unc.edu/

Contact Email: cfe@unc.edu

Communications Office – SOM and UNC Health Communications Team

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Communications strategy/approach for big initiatives and projects at the school
2. Announcement about leadership changes, publication, grant funding, etc., anything that would be of interest to the broad school audience
3. Consultation and advice on issues management related to communications — website content, social media issues, logo and identity management requests

UNC Health Communications Team – Leadership communications support (remarks, talking points, large email messages) regarding media inquiries and interactions with elected officials

About the Office
The communications office is best suited to help with mass communications strategy and large distributions.

We can provide the best quality support when we have sufficient time to develop the right materials (vs. being brought in at the last minute).

Not all problems that have a verbal or written component can be solved with our tools (e.g. specifically interactions between leaders and their staff).

Office Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/intranet/integrated-communications/

Contact Email: Vitalsigns@med.unc.edu

If the press reach out for comment, contact Alan Wolf (alan.wolf@med.unc.edu) in media relations.

Politicians or anyone reaching out with comments about health policy should be directed to Lanier Hodgson (Lanier.Hodgson@unchealth.unc.edu) in Government Relations.

Concur – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Pre-travel approval
2. Travel bookings
3. Reimbursements, expense (T&E) card reconciliation

About the Office

Concur is the main travel processing office on campus for employee travel bookings. Guest travel expenses other than airfare must be processed on a campus voucher (Using WebTravel and RASR). Students and guests use Connect Carolina and WebTravel for airfare requests (not Concur).

If you are combining personal travel with work-related travel, there are a few key things that you must do prior to the travel. Please visit: https://finance.unc.edu/news/2022/04/26/combining-university-business-travel-with-personal-travel/ for more information.

Office Website: https://go.unc.edu/concursupport

Contact Email: travel_team@unc.edu

Compliance and Research Integrity (Research) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. External Professional Activities for Pay (EPAP) activities. Defined as activities that:

Are not included within one’s employment responsibilities; and

Are performed for any entity, public or private, other than the University employer; and

Are undertaken for compensation; and

Are based upon the professional knowledge, experience and abilities of the EPA employee.

2. Research Integrity
3. Vendor Relations guidelines

About the Office
The office handles questions and processes regarding EPAP activities, research integrity, and vendor relations questions. If they do not have an answer for your question regarding any of those topics they know which campus office to direct you to as needed.

NOTE: All Faculty and EPA non-Faculty employees are required to file a “Notice of Intent to Engage in EPAP” request through the online system at least ten (10) days before engaging in the external activity at http://air.unc.edu.
Common examples include:

Consulting for pharmaceutical companies;

Working on a “spin off” company;

Medical legal reviews;

Insurance reviews.

Office Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/oor/school-of-medicine-compliance-and-research-integrity-office/

Contact Email: Please email the persons listed at the bottom of the office website

EPAP Information: https://www.med.unc.edu/opsca/epap/ 

EPAP Email: OPSCA@med.unc.edu

Employee Assistance Program – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. 24/7 confidential counselor assistance over the phone or online
2. Critical Incident group counseling, one-on-one counseling with a Trauma Specialist and informational training sessions
3. Crisis support, financial resources, legal guidance, work and lifestyle support

About the Office
GuidanceResources®, your UNC-Chapel Hill Employee Assistance Program (EAP), provides free, confidential counseling and resources to help University employees and their families deal with personal, financial and work-related concerns.

All permanent employees and members of their household age 13 years or older are eligible to receive three free counseling sessions per concern per year for as many concerns as needed. These benefits remain available to former employees for up to six months after leaving the University.

Environment, Health, and Safety – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Periodic safety and compliance inspections
2. Support for Laboratory Safety Plans
3. Biological Safety (biohazard surveillance), Chemical Safety (education, compliance, and identifying hazards), and Radiation Safety (radioactive materials authorization, personnel monitoring, x-ray safety, and lab inspections
4. Free Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation/Automated External Defibrillator (CPR/AED) Awareness Training for University Employees

About the Office
The Environment, Health and Safety Office is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for the Carolina community through education, training, consultation, recognizing and controlling health and safety hazards, ensuring regulatory compliance and minimizing potential liabilities.

Office Website: https://ehs.unc.edu/ 

Contact Information: https://ehs.unc.edu/about/contact/ 

Export Compliance Office (Research) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Export control questions
2. International shipping and hand-carry
3. Sanctions, hosting international visitors, international travel and telework, and restricted parties permission’s

About the Office
The Export Compliance Office helps understand and adhere to export controls, while facilitating the open sharing of research results, scholarship, and the University’s global mission.

Export control regulates the transfer of information, technology, software, other items, and services considered to be important to the U.S. due to concerns regarding national security, economic competitiveness, or support of international treaties and foreign policy.

Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development Office (FALD) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Appointments, promotion and tenure (APT) processes and support
2. Professional development programs and support for faculty
3. 5-year reviews and post-tenure reviews
4. Standing Committees,
5. Guidance for faculty under investigation

About the Office
This office provides guidance to faculty and staff to facilitate their professional development. Common inquiries relate to (1) the identification of resources for faculty or staff desiring leadership or similar training; and (2) promotions and tenure.

Health Privacy Office – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Annual HIPPA Training
2. Auditing and monitoring current operations and processes created/performed by employees to evaluate whether appropriate privacy and security controls are in place
3. Conducting investigations of suspected privacy breaches involving PHI used for clinical purposes (as opposed to PHI used for education or research purposes)
4. Outreach/consultations for employees on actions and strategies that ensure compliance with UNC Health HIPAA policies (i.e., consultations to ensure that PHI in the possession of UNC SOM workforce members is stored and transmitted securely, or that access to PHI is appropriately provisioned to only personnel in the SOM department, etc.)

About the Office
All UNC SOM Workforce members must comply with the UNC Health HIPAA policies at all times when performing or supporting any clinical activities for or on behalf of UNC Health.
The application of UNC Health HIPAA policies applies very broadly to any activity being performed by a member of the UNC SOM workforce that involves patient medical information that is related to clinical treatment.
Whenever an UNC SOM workforce member accesses, views, uses, sends, or disposes of patient data, the employee is considered to be performing clinical activities.

Human Resources (HR) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Recruitment and hiring support, position management, APT support
2. Policy, procedure, and compliance guidance
3. Performance and organizational development, HR trainings (see bottom of page for links to required trainings)
4. HR consultation and management support

About the Office
This office provides broad guidance regarding all things regarding Human Resources; e.g. recruiting, hiring of new employees, onboarding, orientation, retirement plan selection, benefits, faculty evaluations, promotions, changes in employment status, and disciplinary actions.
If you think you might need to call HR, you should call HR.

Information Technology (IT) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. IT services, live chat support, walk in hours
2. Logistical support for SOM academic technology (room booking, audio/visual support, digital media production, and student system support)
3. IT project consulting and coordinating

About the Office
Offices and support systems include:
Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO); Academic Technology (teaching and learning processes); Application development, Web development, and Data analytics; Client Services and Support; Information Security; Infrastructure and Operations; and Project Management Office

There is a different office for UNC Campus IT; the SOM does not use the Campus IT office.

Office Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/it/

Contact Information:

SOM IT Support form: https://tdx.unc.edu/TDClient/33/Portal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=31

Website Support: webhelp@med.unc.edu

International Student and Scholar Service (ISSS) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Information about UNC-sponsored immigration benefits
2. Immigration advising and programming to navigate process
3. Compliance with federal regulations

About the Office
ISSS staff members are federally authorized to process UNC-sponsored benefits and liaise with federal agencies. The office is the sole campus wide authority on UNC-sponsored immigration.

Office of Animal Care and Use (Research) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Vertebrate animal care applications
2. Inspections of animal facilities and investigator laboratories
3. Animal concerns and investigations
4. Training and educational programs

About the Office

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) oversees the University’s animal care and use program and is responsible for reviewing all animal care applications using vertebrate animals, ensuring compliance with federal animal welfare regulations, inspecting animal facilities and investigator laboratories, investigating animal concerns, and overseeing training and educational programs.

Office of Human Research Ethics – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Manages the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and interactions between investigators and Review Board members.

About the Office
The Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE) oversees the IRBs and is responsible for ethical and regulatory oversight of human subject research at UNC.

Any research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) before research may begin, and before related grants may be funded.

Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Policy, Benefits, Recruitment and Job Postings. Contact: opahr@unc.edu
2. Professional Development & Communications (e.g., RCR training, IDP workshops, professional development events). Contact: opa@unc.edu
3. Orientation & Onboarding. Contact: opa@unc.edu
4. Career Coaching Appointments (Individual consultations, cv speed reviews, IDP, Job search/Job Materials, Personal/career issues, career advice). Contact: dwgrant@email.unc.edu or afarber@email.unc.edu

About the Office
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) enhances, supports, and promotes postdoctoral training and helps prepare postdoctoral scholars for successful research careers. OPA serves postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and human resources professionals in all disciplines.

Office Website: https://research.unc.edu/postdocs/

Contact Email: opa@unc.edu

Office of Research (OoR) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Various sources of funding support (start up, retention, equipment pilot or other funding)
2. Letters of Support/Waivers/Grant related questions
3. COI questions

About the Office
The School of Medicine Office of Research (OoR) is here to help faculty/leaders with a variety of requests. Even if we are not the right office, we can help find the right person with the information needed. So, always feel free to reach out!

Office of Research Technologies (Core Facilities) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Source instrumentation and expertise needed by faculty at core facilities.
2. Leverage UNC core facilities during faculty recruitment and retention.
3. Provide funding for core facilities to purchase new equipment or conduct method development to offer new services, and for PI-driven pilot data collection in UNC SOM core facilities through the Core Voucher Program.
4. Provide strategic and operational support for cores in the SOM (OSP Rate Review process and process improvement)

About the Office
Core Facilities are shared resources that offer a wide range of services to the research community, including cutting-edge technologies, high-end instrumentation, technical support, and education. Facilities are committed to enhancing and expanding the collaborative capabilities of research.

Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Proposal review and submissions
2. Award negotiations and management
3. Training and development for research administration personnel
4. Research integrity information and issues related to scientific misconduct
5. Information on University/state and agency policies, regulations and procedures

About the Office
The Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) in the SOM is responsible for the review, approval and submission of SOM proposals to the NIH (except federal contracts), foundations and non-profit organizations, providing final university signature on behalf of the Vice Chancellor for Research.

The SPO works in close collaboration with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) with regard to all facets of pre-award administration.
Campus office:
https://osp.unc.edu/

Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Submitting invention disclosures and material transfer requests, support with intellectual property protection and commercial licensing.
2. Works with investigators to evaluate, protect, and out-license university inventions
3. Serves as an intellectual property advisor for university research and business activities
4. Processes Material Transfer Agreements

About the Office
Innovate Carolina’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) helps translate the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s inventions and findings into the commercial marketplace.

OTC offers vital expertise to Carolina faculty and students who are engaged in a large and growing portfolio of sponsored and federally funded research, which often involves innovations with commercial potential.

OTC works with Carolina’s researchers and inventors, as well as external research sponsors, collaborators, companies and investors.

Office Website: https://innovate.unc.edu/office-of-technology-commercialization

Contact Email: otc@unc.edu or call 919-966-3929

Ombuds – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Talk in confidence about any campus issue, problem, or conflict
2. Consultations for managing conflict, concerns, and challenges
3. Facilitation for conversations between groups of any size – designated neutrals
4. To request outreach presentations

About the Office
The University Ombuds Office provides a protected space where all Carolina staff, faculty, students, and administrators are welcome to visit and talk in confidence about any campus issue, problem, or conflict. Our office supplements, but does not replace, the University’s formal channels, such as grievance policies.

The Ombuds Office does not accept “notice” on behalf of the University or receive formal complaints.

Office Website: https://ombuds.unc.edu/ 

Contact Email: ombuds@unc.edu

Physician Compliance Office – Health Care System (HCS)

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Ensuring professional billing practices comply with state and federal guidelines.
2. Training on new or existing billing rules, coding education, or clarification on documentation standards.
3. Guidance on new service line and interpreting compliant billing models.

About the Office
Physician Compliance is one of three departments within Compliance and Privacy Services, alongside Hospital Compliance and Privacy Services. Some may assume the office only handles billing issues, when in fact it also supports education, auditing, policy interpretation, and corrective action planning.

Physician Compliance is committed to supporting SOM leaders and faculty with any compliance-related concerns.

Registrar’s Office – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Help entering grades or grade changes
2. Help registering students
3. Student data shared with other students in error (I.e. PIDs, grades)

About the Office
There are several areas of focus within the office to support the SOM:

Transcripts

Requests for Release of Information

Credentialing, Licensing, and Verifications

Name Change Requests

Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE)

MSPE Letter Requests

FERPA Data

This office…

Cannot make exceptions to enroll students or change records without department approval

Does not manage access to Canvas or Connect Carolina

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), protects the rights of students and ensures the privacy and accuracy of education records. Under FERPA personally identifiable information from a student’s education records may not be released without prior written consent.

Office Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/md/student-affairs/registrar/

Please see directory for contact information: https://www.med.unc.edu/spo/home/contact/

Student Affairs (SA) Development Office – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Concerns about a student’s well-being, professionalism, or academic progress.
2. Faculty and leaders often contact the office when they notice behavior that may signal a student is struggling personally or professionally.
3. Support, outreach, and formal interventions for students experiencing distress, trauma, or if they’re missing from class with no notification of absence

About the Office
The Office of Academic Excellence is a part of the Office of Student Affairs (SA) and assists all students, regardless of performance level, with support for time management, test taking strategies, anxiety around academics, etc. Students do not have to be low performing to use OAE services, and do not have to wait to be connected with their support.

SA is not disciplinary. SA provides student support.

This office does not have any information regarding students’ use of clinical services on campus or in the community, unless the student self-discloses. The office does not know who is utilizing Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Taking Care of Our Own, Campus Health, etc., nor do they know the reasons for which students are using these services.

Similarly, when a student requests and receives accommodations from the University Compliance Office, the office is not notified of the nature of the condition(s) for which the accommodation(s) are granted, only what the accommodations are.

Office Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/md/student-affairs

Contact Email: SALeadership@listserv.med.unc.edu

For emergencies or inappropriate information for an email please contact:
Alice Chuang, Associate Dean for Student Affairs at (919) 636 2749

Training Initiatives in Biomedical & Biological Sciences (TIBBS) – SOM

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Workshops, career awareness events, internships, company site visits, and one-on-one career coaching.
2. TIBBS supports many different trainee-led career cohorts including teaching-intensive careers, translational medicine careers, science policy, science writing, and other careers that hire PhD graduates.
3. Supports trainee-organized community building groups such as Society for Black Biomedical Scientists, STEMPride, Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and Global Perspectives in Biomedicine

About the Office
Training Initiatives in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (TIBBS) provides career exploration and professional development resources to graduate students and postdocs in the biosciences. TIBBS strives to raise career awareness, teach the skills that are required for success in a variety of career paths, and provide support for rising life scientists at UNC.

Office Website: https://tibbs.unc.edu/

Contact Directory: https://tibbs.unc.edu/home/contacts/

University Compliance Office (UOC) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Develops, implements, and enforces institutional policies
2. Responds to reports of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, interpersonal violence, and workplace violence
3. Coordinates accommodations for individuals based on disability, pregnancy, and religion. UOC also provides training on these topics.
4. Provides education and resources that support compliance across campus.

About the Office
The University Compliance Office (UCO) leads the University’s efforts to cultivate a safe and welcoming environment. We encourage you to report incidents of discrimination or harassment based on a protected status—including age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status—as well as sexual assault, sexual violence, interpersonal violence, stalking, or workplace violence to the UCO.

The UCO helps members of the University community request disability, pregnancy/lactation, and religious accommodations, such as auxiliary aids and services (e.g., assistive technology, interpreters, flexible scheduling, rest breaks, excused absences, deadline extensions, or prayer space). The UCO guides individuals through a consultation process, evaluates documentation as needed, approves reasonable accommodations in compliance with state and federal law (including Title IX and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act), and maintains ongoing support for modifications as circumstances change.

Office Website: https://eoc.unc.edu/ 

Contact Email: UCO@unc.edu

Responsible Employees (UCO) – Campus

Reasons to Contact this Office
1. Responsible employee information and support

About the Office
All employees, including staff, faculty, and other instructors, are Responsible Employees, except for confidential employees who are acting in their confidential capacity.

When University employees receive information about potential discrimination or harassment based on protected status, sexual assault or sexual violence, sexual exploitation, interpersonal violence, stalking, workplace violence or related retaliation, that employee must report that information to the UCO.

A Responsible Employee can make a report in person, by telephone, electronically, or by email. You can make a report by contacting staff in UCO, or by submitting a form online to UCO.


Office Website: https://eoc.unc.edu/report-an-incident/

Report and Response Managers: reportandresponse@unc.edu or call 919-445-2759


Required Training

For required training for SOM activities: https://go.unc.edu/carolinatalent

For required training for Healthcare System activities: https://myapps.unch.unc.edu/logon/LogonPoint/tmindex.html and click on the LMS tile