At its January 17 meeting, the Faculty Council heard a report from David Wynes, Vice President for Research Administration, on major changes forthcoming from the government to conflict of interest rules governing individual faculty receiving federal research funding. The new regulations will take effect with grants awarded in August 2012. Among the changes:

• The threshold for review of interest in outside activity is now $5,000 in combined income and equity;
• All outside activities related to professional appointment (not just research) must be reported;
• All travel directly reimbursed to an individual and not funded by an institution of higher education or the government must be reported within 30 days to the institution;
• The institution is required to either post on a website the names of all individual faculty with a financial conflict of interest or alternatively to provide the information to anyone who requests it within five days;
• Every faculty member who receives external support must undergo an initial and ongo- ing training every four years in conflict of interest policies.