UW System Ethics Seminar

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UW System Ethics Seminar

• Basics for Department Chairs

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Focus on Financial Conflict

• Assumptions
• Financial interest leads to actions for personal
  financial gain
• Familial relationship leads to actions
• for family gain
• Public confidence in University is
• critical
• Appearance of conflict is
• also damaging

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Focus on Conflict of Commitment

• Assumptions
• Excessive involvement in outside activities
  negatively impacts job performance
• Public confidence in University
• is critical
• Appearance of conflict is also
• damaging

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Definitions

• Immediate Family Spouse and any person who
  receives more than half of his/her support from
  the staff member or from whom the staff member
  receives more than half of his/her support.

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Definitions

• Anything of value Money, property, favor,
  service, loan, promise of future employment, etc.
• Does not include salary from the university,
  compensation (i.e. honoraria and expenses) from
  permitted outside activities

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Definitions

• Organization any corporation, partnership,
  firm, etc., other than the university.

7
Definitions

• Associated with staff member or member of
  immediate family is a director, officer or
  trustee of, or owns or controls directly or
  indirectly at least 10 of the outstanding equity
  of an organization

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Standards of Conduct Prohibitions

• No use or attempt to use public position or state
  property to gain or to attempt to gain anything
  of substantial value for the private benefit of
  staff member or immediate family or any
  organization with which the staff member is
  associated.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 1

• Professor Prospero has a university research lab.
  He contracts to do some testing for a local
  municipality, charging an hourly rate for the
  testing. The compensation goes to his family
  checking account.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 2

• Alicia Academic Staff Member uses university
  computer hardware and server connections after
  hours to handle a mail order business in curling
  supplies that she operates with her friend, Betty
  Broom.

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Standards of Conduct Prohibitions

• No solicitation or acceptance from any person or
  organization of anything of value pursuant to an
  express or implied understanding that the staff
  members conduct of university business would be
  influenced thereby.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 3

• Professor Computer Lover meets the VP for
  Computers Youll Love, Inc. The VP gives the
  Professor a free laptop to use for teaching.
  Next week, the company makes a sales pitch to the
  department. Professor Computer Lover is on the
  technology committee.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 4

• Professor Straight Laced has diligently assisted
  a struggling grad student. The week before the
  final oral presentation for the Masters Degree,
  the student gives Prof. Laced an elegant antique
  vase, which would bring 5,000 at auction.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 5

• Dr. Jane Junket is VC for finance and
  administration at UW-Luck. Four years ago, she
  negotiated a contract with Big Books, Inc. for
  the operation of UW-Lucks bookstore. In late
  January, Junket flew to the Big Books, Inc.
  headquarters in Sand Key, Fl. for a meeting to
  negotiate an extension of the contract. Big
  Books provided round trip plane tickets, hotel
  accommodations, meals, ground transportation and
  Disney World tickets for Junket and her family.

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Standards of Conduct Prohibitions

• No use or disclosure of confidential university
  information in any way that could result in the
  receipt of anything of value for staff member or
  immediate family or for any person or
  organization which which staff member is
  associated.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 6

• Professor Great Expectations learns that his
  department plans to purchase some real estate for
  a new experimental farm. The university hopes to
  get the property for a low price. Prof.
  Expectations, by chance, talks with a neighbor
  and learns that the land owner wants to move to
  Arizona quickly. Prof. Expectations calls the
  land owner and offers below market value for the
  property, cash, to close within the week. The
  land owner accepts and they close the deal.

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Standards of Conduct Prohibitions

• No staff member, immediate family or organization
  which which the staff member is associated may
  enter into a contract or lease with the
  University involving payments of 3,000 or more
  within a 12-month period if the staff member is
  in a position to approve or influence the
  universitys decision.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 7

• Professor Leaping Lizards spouse owns a
  biological specimen supply company that promises
  overnight delivery of orders. Professor Lizard
  teaches Biology 101 and has had problems
  obtaining dissection specimens in a timely
  manner. Professor Lizard tells the department
  administrator to order all future specimens for
  his course from Lizards Inc. The administrator
  suspects that this is the spouses company.

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Standards of ConductProhibitions

• No staff member may formally or informally
  participate in the decision to hire, retain,
  grant tenure to, promote or determine the salary
  of a member of the staff members immediate
  family.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 8

• Professor Family Ties has a niece who has applied
  for a position in the department. They do not
  share the same last name. Professor Ties is on
  the personnel committee that is responsible for
  the hiring decision.

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Standards of ConductProhibitions

• No staff member may engage in outside activities
  that present conflicts with or detract from
  performance of university duties and
  responsibilities.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 9

• Prof. Freddie Faculty has built a flourishing
  consulting business in his field of academic
  interest. His department chair notices Freddie's
  growing number of absences from work and lack of
  participation in departmental activities.
  Colleagues complain that Freddie is not pulling
  his weight on committees. Students complain
  about cancelled classes and curtailed office
  hours. One afternoon, Freddie stops the
  department chair in the hallway and excitedly
  tells him about a new and lucrative consulting
  agreement he is negotiating with 3 N, Inc.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 10

• Professor Catharine Conference tells her
  department chair that she has volunteered to
  serve on a committee that organizes and presents
  the national and regional conferences for the
  international professional organization to which
  she belongs. Her service on this committee will
  cause her to miss five weeks of class over the
  course of the academic year.

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Standards of Conduct Snapshot 11

• Professor Bigshot and spouse own a private
  consulting company dealing with an offshoot of
  Bigshots primary research interest. Bigshot
  holds a patent on a device, the use of which is
  the primary consulting topic. Last year, the
  spouse earned most of the money in the company
  Bigshot earned only 3,000. Next year, Bigshot
  will earn most of the money for the company,
  spending up to two full days a week on the road,
  according to the companys current commitments.
  What must Bigshot do and report?

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Ethics Resources

• Consult institutional policies
• Consult Institutional Ethics Committees
• Call Office of General Counsel

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Ethics Resources

• www.rsp.wisc.edu/coi/
• System Guidelines and Forms
• www.rsp.wisc.edu/coi/stateform.pdf
• Federal Rules and Policies
• www.rsp.wisc.edu/services/guides/conflict/conflict
  .htm