Conflict of Interest and Commitment

Policy 605.6

1 Introduction

The Code of The University of North Carolina affirms that the basic mission of the faculty is "the transmission and advancement of knowledge and understanding." Faculty employment at Appalachian State University entails the three responsibilities of teaching, scholarship and other professional service to the institution and to society. Realization of those objectives is facilitated and encouraged by certain distinctive characteristics of employment within an academic community which differs markedly from the conventional workday and workweek employment models in most business and industrial settings.

Time-specific assignments such as classroom contact hours, constitute only a limited part of the workload. Typically, actual teaching hours account for no more than one quarter of a professor's time. Activity directly affecting the education of students also includes class preparation and student evaluation, scheduled and unscheduled office hours for individual student counseling, and meetings of committees within departments, colleges and schools of the institution which are responsible for curriculum development, syllabus preparation, and program evaluation. In addition, the collective faculty has extensive authority and responsibility for the governance of the institution. Such work usually is accomplished through membership on various committees, at the department, college, school and institutional levels, which address personnel, financial and other administrative issues. Finally, every member of the faculty is expected to pursue research/creative activity in her or his area of specialization. Such scholarly activity may be specifically relevant to instruction, it may add generally to the body of information and understanding in a particular field, or it may have direct practical applications, as in business, industry, government, primary and secondary education, public health and national defense.

Faculty/EPA administrative personnel also pursue their specialized professional interests in other contexts, collateral to their immediate University employment. They hold memberships in and attend meetings of professional associations and learned societies; they serve on review or advisory panels; they present lectures, papers, concerts and exhibits; they participate in seminars and conferences; they review and edit scholarly publications; and they participate in accreditation reviews.

Many faculty/EPA administrative personnel also have opportunities to use their specialized competencies in secondary professional employment, as paid consultants to public and private agencies, and thereby contribute to the transfer and application of knowledge.

The role of a scholar, encompassing both institutional employment responsibilities and broader applications of specialized professional interests, is complex. The University employment environment is designed to accommodate such complexity. For many purposes, the faculty member is allowed, and indeed encouraged, to function more independently than employees in other settings. Aside from assigned teaching and advising responsibilities and committee memberships, a faculty member establishes her or his own agenda and schedule in selecting and pursuing scholarly emphases. A substantial part of the value received by society in exchange for its investment in a scholar's career is attributable to that freedom of inquiry, whether the inquiry consists of basic scientific research, applied or performing art, analysis and criticism of literature, or explication of economic principles. Members of the faculty are expected to be imaginative, inquisitive, creative, fair and objective.

The freedom accorded faculty/EPA administrative personnel carries with it a substantial responsibility. Those who display notable talent and are conscientious and productive in their pursuit of knowledge and learning are invited to establish long-term affiliations with the institution, through the award of tenure. There is the possibility, however, that members of the faculty/EPA administrative personnel may take advantage of the freedom attending employment and neglect their responsibilities to the institution. Such neglect may become an issue when decisions are being made about reappointment or tenure, or it may require attention at other times during the employment relationship. The problem may consist of what may be considered either a conflict of commitment or a conflict of interest .

As relationships between University faculty/EPA administrative personnel and private industry, federal and state governments, and nonprofit agencies have grown in number and scope, there has been a corresponding increase in concern about conflicts of commitment and interest. While faculty/EPA administrative personnel are encouraged to engage in appropriate relationships with public and private agencies outside the University, there is a need for commonly understood principles and corresponding procedures that will identify and address conflicts which would detract from or interfere with the faculty/EPA administrative personnel's dedication of primary professional loyalty, time and energy to University teaching, scholarship and service. Although faculty/EPA administrative personnel are the primary subject of concern, all other University employees similarly must avoid such conflicts.

The following policy statements should serve as a guide for faculty/EPA administrative personnel in structuring their relationships with commercial business, the nonprofit sector, and federal and state governments. They are designed to enable faculty/EPA administrative personnel to recognize more clearly situations that may be subject to question and to ensure that such situations are properly reviewed and, if necessary, supervised and monitored. They provide faculty/EPA administrative personnel with guidance for the continued development and future structuring of productive relationships with outside organizations. Finally, by virtue of the explicit nature of and provision for full disclosure, the Policy provides assurance to faculty/EPA administrative personnel, the University, and the public that such relationships have been examined and will be conducted in a manner consistent with University and public values.