DRAFT
Policy on Conflicts of Interest and Commitment
I. Preamble
The involvement of University faculty and staff with private ventures of any sort
inevitably has the potential for conflicts of interest and commitment. These conflicts arise
from the individual’s opportunities to benefit financially from the outcome of his or her
research or other activities conducted as a member of the University community. Faculty
and other employees of the University must be aware that outside obligations, financial
interests or other employment could affect the objectivity of employees’ decisions and
the effectiveness of their performance, as well as potentially disadvantage the University.
It is the purpose of this Policy to articulate the principles for identifying potential
conflicts and the procedures for reviewing and addressing conflicts that occur. This
Policy covers all University employees, both academic and non-academic.
The University emphasizes, however, that this Policy does not restrict members of
the faculty from choosing the subject matter of or manner of pursuing their research,
scholarly work or other activities, subject to applicable budgetary and programmatic
constraints of the University as may exist in any given year. This Policy also does not
limit the types of external activities or business transactions in which University faculty
and other employees may engage as long as those activities do not present conflicts of
interest and commitment.
II. Definitions
University: Pace University
Conflict of Interest: An actual or potential conflict of interest exists when an
employee is in a position to influence any University business transaction, research or
other activity, or other decisions in ways that could lead to any manner or form of
personal gain from any source, other than established compensation, including
performance bonuses from the University, for the employee, or for his or her family
members.
Conflict of Commitment: A conflict of commitment is an activity that interferes
with an employee’s ability to effectively carry out his or her duties to the University.
External employment, or self-employment in an employee’s profession or specialty, is
permitted where there is not a conflict of interest or commitment. Employees on fulltime appointment are compensated for full-time employment and outside or dual
employment or other activity, whether compensated or not, that in any way interferes
with the performance of an employee’s University duties and responsibilities is a conflict
of commitment and as such is not permitted.
Employee: A person employed in any capacity at any level of intensity by the
University, including but not limited to persons holding faculty appointments. For
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purposes of conflict of interest, the term also applies to persons engaged under contracts
for personal services.
III. General Principles
University employees owe their primary professional allegiance to the University,
and their primary commitment of time and intellectual energies should be to the
education, research and scholarship programs of the University. The specific
responsibilities and professional activities that constitute an appropriate and primary
commitment will differ across departments, but they should be based on a general
understanding between the faculty member and the head of his or her academic unit.
Conflicts of interest and commitment do not include professional and academic
activities such as: participation on site visits, academic panels, promotion and tenure
activities, program reviews, recruiting, journal editing, attendance or preparations for
conferences or other professional activities. Such activities are considered to be integral
to the employee’s professional standing and public service commitments and hence are
encouraged. Even with such understandings in place, however, attempts to balance
University responsibilities with external activities, such as consulting, public service or
pro bono work, can result in conflicts regarding allocation of time and energies.
Conflicts of commitment often involve issues of time allocation. Whenever an
individual's outside activities exceed the generally permitted limits (normally one
calendar day per week), or whenever a full-time employee’s primary professional loyalty
is not to the University, a conflict of commitment exists.
A conflict of interest occurs when an independent observer might reasonably
question whether a faculty member's professional actions or decisions are determined by
considerations of personal gain, financial or otherwise. A conflict of interest arises if
there is an actual, potential or perceived divergence between a faculty member’s private
interests and his or her professional obligations to the University. The actual existence of
a conflict of interest depends on the facts of a particular situation.
Conflicts of interest can arise out of the fact that a mission of the University is to
promote public good by fostering the transfer of knowledge gained through University
scholarship and research to the public and private sectors. Two means of accomplishing
this include consulting and the commercialization of technologies, products and
outcomes derived from scholarship and research. It is appropriate that faculty and other
members of the University community be rewarded for their participation in these
activities through revenue sharing arrangements arrived at in accordance with the statutes
and policies of the University. It is improper, however, for an individual's actions or
decisions made in the course of his or her University activities to be determined by
considerations of personal gain, whether financial or otherwise. Such behavior raises the
question of professional objectivity and ethics, and it also reflects negatively on the
University. University faculty and other members of the University community must
conduct their affairs in ways that will not compromise the integrity of the University.
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For all of these reasons, the University requires that faculty members and other
employees conduct their affairs in a manner to avoid or minimize conflicts of interest,
and to respond appropriately when conflicts of interest arise. The purposes of this policy
document are to educate faculty and other employees about situations that generate
conflicts of interest and commitment, to provide means for faculty and others together
with the University to manage conflicts, to promote the best interests of students and
others whose work depends on faculty direction, and to describe situations that are
prohibited. Every faculty member and employee of the University has an obligation to
become familiar with, and abide by, the provisions of this policy. If a conflict of
commitment or interest question arises from a faculty member’s external activities, the
faculty member is expected to discuss the situation with his or her Dean.
IV. Discussion
1. Presence on Campus:
Appointment as a faculty member of the University requires a primary
commitment of expertise, time, and energy in furtherance of the privileges and
obligations of the appointment and the mission of the University, including the pursuit of
teaching, scholarship, and research. To that end, faculty members are expected to
participate in the governance of the University, formulation of academic policy, and
determination of the intellectual directions and academic priorities of the University.
A full-time appointment conveys an obligation for a faculty member to have a
significant presence on campus, to be accessible to students and staff, and to be available
to interact with University colleagues throughout every semester during which he or she
is on active duty, unless his or her Dean has granted specific prior approval for extended
or frequent absences from campus. Since requirements for field research and other
reasons for absence from campus may differ across the University, departments should
define for their faculties what qualifies as inappropriate, extended or frequent absences.
2. Limitations on Outside Professional Activities:
Faculty of the University are encouraged to become involved in the transfer of
knowledge from the University environment into the commercial and noncommercial
marketplace. It is an appropriate role for the University to facilitate the transfer of the
knowledge gained through academic research and scholarship to applications which can
benefit the general population. Experience gained in the course of outside professional
activities can enhance faculty members’ teaching, research or scholarship within the
University. But the process of technology and content transfer can create the potential for
conflicts of commitment and/or interest, particularly when there is opportunity for
personal gain on the part of the faculty. The intent of this provision of the policy is to
minimize these conflicts and provide means of managing them when they arise.
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An implicit assumption underlying the University’s policy permitting outside
professional activities is that such activities are a privilege and not a right; they must not
detract from a faculty member's full-time obligation to the University. An outside
activity that detracts from the conduct of University duties is a conflict of commitment.
Even activities such as pro bono work, government service in the public interest, and any
outside employment unrelated to the faculty member's University responsibilities must be
managed so they do not take precedence over a faculty member's primary commitment to
the University.
Outside professional activities can also generate conflicts of interest regardless of
the time involved. For example, direction of a program of research or scholarship at
another institution that could be conducted appropriately at the University as part of the
faculty member's normal duties can deprive University students and colleagues of the
benefits of the faculty member's primary intellectual energies.
Another example is submitting research proposals through channels other than the
to support work that could be performed at the University. First, the use of University
resources in the course of that work is practically unavoidable. Second, it becomes
difficult, if not impossible, for the University to review and reward the contributions of
University faculty, staff, and students for work managed and/or conducted elsewhere.
Third, the action can result in situations that place students and staff in conflicts of
interest. For these reasons active faculty members who wish to serve as principal
investigators on sponsored projects submitted and managed through other institutions
must first obtain the written permission of their department chair and the Dean. This
stipulation is not intended to limit faculty from participating in multi-site training or
research programs or research institutes located at the University. Nor is it intended to
apply to circumstances in which the faculty member's research requires access to
facilities not available at the University.
Significant management roles (those that involve supervision of the work of
others or day-to-day responsibility for operating decisions) in private business typically
are demanding both in terms of time and energy. It is unlikely that such roles can be
fulfilled by the manager working only one day per week, the maximum time permitted
for full-time faculty to engage in outside consulting activities. Therefore, because fulltime faculty of the University are expected to devote their primary energies and
professional interests to their University obligations, they may not accept significant
managerial responsibilities as part of their outside consulting activities absent written
approval of the Dean, which approval will be granted only upon a showing that the
managerial responsibilities are unlikely to be disruptive of the faculty member’s
responsibilities to the University..
Whenever faculty members are involved in research as part of their outside
consulting or business activities, they must establish clear boundaries that separate their
University and outside obligations in a manner that avoids questions about their
appropriate use of resources and attributions of products of their work.
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3. Free and Open Exchange of Research Results:
The integrity of the University as a community of scholars requires the free and
open exchange of ideas and the results of scholarly activities. This requires faculty to
maintain an atmosphere free from unwarranted external influences. Students and
collaborators must be able to pursue topics of interest, have access to available
information and facilities, and be able to communicate the results of their work to other
scholars and the public. Therefore, faculty must ensure that:
a) the results of research or scholarship undertaken at the University are
disseminated on an open and timely basis to the broader scholarly community and public;
b) the activities of students and other scholars are free from the personal
commercial or other interests of the faculty member; and
c) the work of students, staff, other scholars and collaborators is not exploited in
the course of a faculty member's outside obligations. To this end, faculty members
should disclose their involvement with and obligations to outside third parties who could
benefit from the work or ideas of their students, staff, and colleagues. Similarly,
students, associates, and staff should have access to information about the sources of
funds that support their research.
4. Appropriate Use of University Resources, Including Facilities, Personnel, Equipment,
and Information:
Faculty may not use University resources, including facilities, personnel,
equipment, or information, except in a purely incidental way as part of their outside
consulting activities or for any other non-University purposes. Inappropriate use of
University resources includes the following:
a) assigning the faculty member's students, staff or other scholars University tasks
for purposes of potential or real gain, whether financial or otherwise, of the faculty
member rather than the advancement of the scholarly field or the students' educational
needs.
b) involvement of the faculty member's students or staff in his or her outside
consulting or business activities without prior approval of the Executive Vice President
for Academic Affairs or his or her designee;
c) providing preferential access to research results, materials or products
generated from University teaching or research activities to an outside entity for personal
gain, whether financial or otherwise.
d) granting access to external entities to University resources or services for
purposes outside the University's missions, or offering inappropriate favors to outside
entities in an attempt to unduly influence them in their dealings with the University.
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e) using for personal gain, or granting unauthorized access to others, of
confidential information acquired through conduct of University business or research
activities. Confidential information includes, but is not limited to, medical, personnel, or
security records of individuals; proprietary knowledge about corporate anticipated
material requirements or price actions; and proprietary knowledge of possible new sites
for government operations or information about forthcoming programs or selection of
contractors or subcontractors in advance of official announcements.
5. Responsibilities for implementing this Policy:
The Dean of the faculty member’s academic unit is the University officer
responsible for interpreting and overseeing implementation of and compliance with this
Policy. The Dean is responsible for reviewing and approving each department's
mechanisms for implementing this Policy. In addition, the Dean shall adjudicate
situations in which faculty wish to appeal a decision of a department chair. The
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs is expected to ensure that this Policy is
implemented with reasonable consistency across the University.
6. Appeals of decisions made by a Dean:
Should a faculty member wish to appeal a decision made by the Dean, he or she may
present the appeal to the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will
consider the case and render a final decision.
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