Council Considers Conflict of Interest

In November the Faculty Council reviewed the conflict of interest policies outlined in the Emory Faculty Handbook, which is now under the authority of the Council. Brenda Seiton, Assistant Vice President for Research Administration, spoke on the work of the Conflict of Interest Office. Seiton said that most of the policies in the handbook are administered through the Office of the Provost and the deans’ offices. She also noted that all Emory faculty engaged in research must complete an annual electronic certification in conflict of interest. Faculty not engaged in research should check with their deans’ offices on what is required. The eCOI system, she said, “captures information about financial interests and external activities,” from consulting activities and investments to externally funded research. Her office is responsible for policies for investigators holding financial interest in research and institutional financial interest in human subject research. She put the question to members as to whether guidelines for scholarship needed to be adjusted to respond more effectively to the needs of humanities and social sciences faculty. The Council approved a motion to form an ad hoc committee to review the policies currently in the handbook and present recommendations by the end of this academic year.

 

SGA Proposes Revision to Student Judicial Processes

Two Student Government Association leaders, President Raj Patel and James Crowe, an associate justice of the Constitutional Council, presented to the Faculty Council their proposal to realign student judicial processes. They explained that the honor councils in Emory College and other divisions hear cases of academic misconduct, and that those processes provide recommendations to academic deans, though in most divisions the dean is not bound by the recommendations. The Constitutional Council, on the other hand, hears “questions of the constitutionality and equity of any university action which affects the rights of any student or group thereof,” according to the Emory Student Constitution. In the proposed realignment, the Constitutional Council would review cases when division-based appeals are exhausted and only to consider whether “student rights or university policy” have been violated. The students were invited to return to the Faculty Council in the spring semester to discuss processes at other institutions and questions of evidence and implementation.

 

Conflict of Commitment Policy Also Reviewed

Council past chair Gray Crouse led a discussion on the conflict of commitment policies as currently drawn in the Emory Faculty Handbook. These policies address teaching, research, and service beyond a faculty member’s school at Emory, as well as private consulting and use of university resources. “One of the issues is that as the policy currently reads, if, for example, a faculty member is invited to give a lecture at Emory or another institution, even for no compensation, that faculty member must get prior permission from the dean,” Crouse said. “This policy does not make distinctions between levels of teaching or levels of service.” The discussion concluded with the determination that the Executive Committee would work on a draft revision of the policy and present it in the next Faculty Council meeting.