ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ

, grants authority to the Board of Visitors to establish rules and regulations for the institution.  Section 7.01(a)(6) of the  grants authority to the President to implement the policies and procedures of the Board relating to University operations.

Administrative Support Position –&²Ô²ú²õ±è;An employee who assists in the functioning of the University by supporting managerial, executive, or operational tasks. These positions are typically not directly involved in decision-making regarding policy or strategy but provide essential support for the daily operations and administrative functions.

Conflict of Interests –&²Ô²ú²õ±è;A personal interest by a University employee or the employee’s immediate family member in a contract or transaction to which ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ is a party. 

Contract –&²Ô²ú²õ±è;An agreement to which ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ is a party or an agreement that benefits ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ and involves use of funds appropriated by the General Assembly. 

Employee –&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Any staff, administrator, faculty member, full- or part-time, or classified or non-classified person paid by the University.

Immediate Family Member –&²Ô²ú²õ±è;A spouse or any other person residing in the same household as the employee who is a dependent of the employee or of whom the employee is a dependent.

Personal Interest –&²Ô²ú²õ±è;A financial benefit or liability accruing to an employee or to a member of the employee’s immediate family. The personal interest shall exist by:

1. Ownership in a business where the ownership interest exceeds three percent of the total equity of the business;
2. Income from ownership of a business or property exceeds or may reasonably be anticipated to exceed $5,000 annually;
3. Salary, other compensation, fringe benefits or benefits exceed or may reasonably be expected to exceed $5,000 annually;
4. Ownership value of the real or personal property exceeds $5,000 annually;
5. Personal liability exceeds three percent of the asset value of the business; or
6. An option for ownership of a business, real property, or personal property will consist of (1) or (4) above.

This policy applies to all employees of the University.

1. Prohibited Content
   
   1. No employee shall accept or solicit money or any other thing of value to perform the job assigned to the employee by ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ other than the remuneration provided by the University for that job.
   2. No employee shall accept or solicit money or any other thing of value from another to appoint, employ, or promote any person within the University.
   3. No employee shall accept or solicit money or any other thing of value for any person to obtain a contract or business with the University.
   4. No employee shall use or provide information obtained by virtue of employment, which is not available to the public, for profit.
   5. No employee shall accept any money, loan, gift, favor, service or business or professional opportunity when that employee knows or should know that there is a reasonable likelihood that the opportunity is being afforded to influence the employee in his or her official duties.
   6. No employee shall accept a gift where the timing, frequency and nature of the gift could cause a reasonable person to question the employee’s impartiality in a matter affecting the donor.
2. Nepotism

• In hiring the immediate family member of a University employee, the hiring manager shall first determine if the position is in teaching, research, academic support, or some other position.  After making that determination, the hiring manager shall follow the applicable conflict avoidance procedure below.  This requirement applies to new hires and individuals changing positions within the University.
• When two University employees marry each other, each employee must notify their immediate supervisor.  The supervisor must then follow the applicable conflict avoidance procedure.
• When both the employee and the immediate family member will be engaged in teaching, research, or administrative support positions at the University, the Board of Visitors must find that it is in the best interests of the institution and the Commonwealth for such dual employment to exist and the University has ensured that neither the employee, nor the immediate family member, has sole authority to supervise, evaluate, or make personnel decisions regarding the other.
• For all other positions, the University allows members of an employee’s immediate family to be employed at the University, provided the employee does not exercise control over the employment or the employment activities of the immediate family member.  The employee also is prohibited from being in a position to influence the employment activities of the immediate family member.

3. Exceptions to the general prohibition against employees having a personal interest in contracts with the University other than their employment contract are established by Virginia Code § 2.2-3106, and include
   
   1. Contracts with other agencies of State government.
   2. Contracts with a publisher or wholesaler of textbooks or other educational materials for students because the employee has authored or otherwise created the material.
   3. Subject to the approval of the Board of Visitors, a personal interest in a contract for research and development or commercialization of intellectual property between ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ and a business in which the employee has a personal business interest if
      
      1. the employee’s interest was disclosed prior to entry into the contract;
      2. the employee promptly files a disclosure statement and thereafter files a statement annually, as required by law;
      3. ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ has a policy that has been approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV); and
      4. ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ files the annual report with the Secretary of the Commonwealth as required by law.
4. Sanctions
   
   1. Any person who knowingly violates the Conflict of Interests Act may be prosecuted for a Class 1 misdemeanor and malfeasance in office.
   2. The agreement or contract made in violation may be declared void and a civil penalty assessed.
   3. A violating employee may be terminated.

1. The employee is responsible for complying with the law.
2. All employees with a potential conflict of interests are required to advise the University of the potential conflict of interests and, when applicable, complete a Statement of Economic Interest.
3. The Division of Talent Management and Culture shall prepare a list of employees who, due to their job descriptions, are designated by the Commonwealth of Virginia as employees who must complete a Statement of Economic Interest.
4. All employees listed by the Division of Talent Management and Culture as being required to file a Statement of Economic Interest must complete the Statement of Economic Interest annually.
5. All employees required to file a Statement of Economic Interest must undergo training as to conflict of interests when initially identified and every two years thereafter.  The Division of Talent Management and Culture maintains the list of qualified filers and notifies required filers when the legal required training needs to be completed.  The notification includes a link to the online conflict of interest training.
6. The Division of Talent Management and Culture shall be responsible for identifying potential conflicts of interests related to reporting relationships with new and existing classified employees and administrative and professional faculty, assisting hiring managers in the determination required in Section E.2 of this Policy, and preparing the necessary resolutions for submittal to the Board of Visitors. The Division of Academic Affairs shall be responsible for identifying potential conflicts of interests related to reporting relationships with new and existing teaching and research faculty and preparing the necessary resolutions for submittal to the Board of Visitors. Vice Presidents shall be responsible for providing the Division of Talent Management and Culture or the Division of Academic Affairs, as appropriate, with notice of potential conflicts of interests that may occur as the result of marriage between two employees either within their vice presidential area or another vice presidential area.
7. Any employee may clarify a possible conflict of interest by a formal request for an opinion from the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council or the Attorney General of Virginia.

Applicable records must be retained and then destroyed in accordance with the .

Associate University Counsel

Outside Employment Policy

University Policy 1002 – Code of Ethics

University Policy 5201- Individual Research Conflict of Interest and Commitment

Teaching and Research Faculty Handbook