Faculty, academic staff, and limited appointees (other than state public officials) are subject to Chapter UWS 8, which outlines standards of conduct to avoid activities which cause, or tend to cause, conflicts between their personal interests and their public responsibilities, and to improve standards of public service. Whenever it appears that a material conflict may arise, these employees should follow the procedure outlined in UWS 8.04.
Pursuant to Wis. Admin Code UWS 8.025 and SYS 1290, all Universities of Wisconsin faculty, academic staff, and limited appointees with half-time appointments or more are required to report annually outside activities and interests related to their areas of professional responsibility and for which they receive remuneration by April 30 of each year. These reports are public records, which can be viewed by any member of the public and therefore should be maintained in a central location at each institution. While this form gathers information for the prior year, it is important staff understand that throughout the year they are required to promptly update any changes in circumstances as they occur. Note that any faculty, academic staff, or limited appointees who are defined as “contracting personnel[1]” under UWS 8.02(7) are also required by UWS 8.06 to file an annual Statement of Economic Interests with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
SYS 1290 Guidance goes into additional detail about reviewer responsibilities. Institutions are expected to assess, as part of the review of an outside activity report, how an employee’s time commitment to outside activities may impact their expected contributions to the UW System. The evaluation of a potential conflict of commitment should be a part of the review of an outside activity report.
[1] “Contracting personnel" means those persons who are designated in writing by the chancellor of an institution or the president of the system to negotiate, review, approve, or sign contracts for the purchase of goods and services on behalf of an institution, the university system, or the board. The term does not include persons who do either or both of the following: (a) Contract only with outside agencies for research or for services to be performed by the university; or(b) Negotiate, review, approve or sign only employment contracts.