Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook
Chapter 4 -- Faculty: Benefits, Responsibilities, and Specific Requirements
Commitment of Time, Conflict of Interest, Consulting and Other Employment Policies of the Board of Regents
See University Policies, Commitment of Time, Conflict of Interest, to view full policy.
Approved by President's Cabinet (05-29-02)
Revision approved by President's Cabinet (05-08-13)
Committee section of retired Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Time Reporting Procedures appended to revised Commitment of Time policy in the Faculty and Unclassified Handbook per General Council (07-01-13).
University Conflict of Interest Committee
a. Conflict of Interest Committee Formation
The Provost will select the members for the Conflict of Interest Committee as cases arise.
b. Conflict of Interest Committee Membership
The membership of the Committee will be drawn from the full-time teaching faculty of the University. However, membership shall not include the chair of any academic unit, or assistant dean, or associate dean, or dean of any college or school. The Committee will consist of seven (7) voting faculty members. One voting member will be selected from lists of at least three nominees submitted to the Provost by each of the five college deans (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business and Entrepreneurship, Education, Health and Behavioral Sciences, Science, Technology and Mathematics), the Dean of Graduate Studies, and the President of Faculty Senate. The Provost will select one at-large representative. The Provost will appoint one person to call the organizational meeting. The Committee will select its own chair and secretary. The chair will be a voting member of the Committee.
Review Guidelines
a. Conflict of Interest Committee Objectives:
The principal objective for the Committee and responsible administrators is to help ensure that faculty and the University avoid activities where the risk to integrity and reputation as a result of an external activity outweighs the value of the activity to academic and societal goals. Guidelines for appropriate activity are described in the Kansas Board of Regents policy, Commitment of Time, Conflict of Interest, Consulting and Other Employment, as well as in relevant publications of the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, or other federal agencies as appropriate.
b. Conflict of Interest Committee Review Process:
Upon receiving a request for review from the Provost, the Conflict of Interest Committee will review information pertaining to the questioned activity. In order to reach an informed judgment and recommendation, the Committee may request additional information from the faculty member, from the chair or the academic supervisor, from the college dean, from the Provost, or from external sources. Review and decisions on proposed activities for this section must be completed within ten (10) working days after submission of the Disclosure Form to the Committee. The Committee may extend its deadline by ten (10) working days if important information from external sources is required. The Committee will notify the individual or individuals submitting the activity, the chair of the department, supervisor of the academic unit, the dean of the college and the Provost of this extension.
The Committee will submit to the Provost a written recommendation signed by all Committee members. Committee recommendations might include but are not limited to the following: approval of the activity as proposed if it is concluded that the potential for conflict is remote or inconsequential; requirement of periodic oversight by individuals independent of the employee; divestiture of the financial interest; assignment of different faculty members without a financial interest to control the activity; termination of the activity; termination of a grant awarded before the conflict became known.
In special circumstances the Conflict of Interest Committee may approve the activity for a limited period of time due to the potentially great benefit from the activity even though there is a high potential for conflict of interest. The circumstances, restrictions, and conditions of continuation will be carefully and fully detailed in writing. Such restrictions and conditions might include but are not limited to public disclosure of significant financial interest, monitoring of research by independent reviewers, or modification of the research plan or activity.
c. Conflict of Interest Committee Reporting:
The Conflict of Interest Committee will report its recommendation in writing to the Provost. The Provost will consult with the President in making the final recommendation. In reaching this decision, the President and Provost will strongly consider the Committee's recommendation. The Provost will communicate the final recommendation to the faculty member or unclassified staff, to the chair of the faculty member's department, to the supervisor of the academic unit, to the dean, and to the University Conflict of Interest Committee. These parties will initiate appropriate steps to implement the final recommendation. The final decision will be filed in the individual's personnel file in the Office of the Provost.
See University Policies, Commitment of Time, Conflict of Interest to view full policy.