A faculty member at a research university was convicted of making false statements to the federal government, a felony, for failing to disclose an outside engagement with a Chinese institution on his university’s conflict of interest disclosure form.
When faced with conflicts of interest disclosure obligations, university faculty with federal funding for research should disclose all engagements that may raise questions of conflict of commitment or interest.
Developing and implementing clear and robust processes to timely disclose and manage potential conflicts of interest, and ensuring those policies are current and are understood by faculty, should continue to be a top priority for all research institutions.