Cornell has maintained a tradition of public service, and a dedication to forging mutually beneficial links with society at large.  It remains committed to an expanding vision of public service and supports those activities that serve society and support and enhance its twin missions of scholarship and education.

Over the past decade, opportunities for Faculty and Staff to engage in financially rewarding external professional and entrepreneurial activities have increased markedly.  At the same time, both public sensitivity to questions of professional ethics and public suspicion of research universities have grown.  If the University is to enjoy the levels of public support necessary for it to carry out its mission, it must avoid any perception that it is unwilling or unable to subject itself to high standards of ethical behavior.

In response to this, Cornell's Board of Trustees added a section to the Cornell Conflicts Policy requiring a uniform annual disclosure of external interests and time commitments and activities by Faculty and other appropriate senior Employees, and established the University Conflicts Committee (UCC) to supervise that effort. 

One purpose of the disclosure is to enable members of the University to recognize outside interests and activities that may be subject to question and to ensure that these situations are resolved in a way that does not create a Conflict of Interest or a Conflict of Time Commitment, inconsistent with the Policy.

College Deans, and, by delegation, Department Chairs have responsibility for resolving conflict situations.  A Faculty member who believes that the decision of a Dean in such a situation is unfair may appeal to the UCC.

A Conflict of Interest or the appearance of a conflict can arise when a University Employee has an outside financial interest that can be affected by a decision that the Employee makes in the performance of his or her Cornell duties.  A Conflict of Time Commitment can arise when an Employee makes an external commitment that interferes with his or her primary obligation to Cornell.

The disclosure form is in two Sections and is available at http://www.oria.cornell.edu/coi/.  Part I consists of questions to be answered “yes” or “no,” and must be completed by everyone.  Part II will be supplied only to those who have answered "yes" to any of the questions in Part I. 

It is estimated that it should take only a few minutes to complete both Sections of the disclosure form.  If you do not have investments or outside sources of income related to your activities at Cornell, do not have other outside activities that may present a Conflict of Interest, do not hire graduate students for projects outside Cornell and do not work outside of Cornell during the academic year, then answer "no" in the appropriate places, sign and return the form to the Administrative Service Center.  If you are not certain that "no" is the appropriate response, you are encouraged to read the exact wording of the questions and the definitions of the terms provided.

The completed forms should be returned to the Administrative Service Center, 235 Sage Hall, and will reside in each individual's personnel file.

Last Modified: April 28, 2006