5.8-2.1
FINANCIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST CLARIFICATION
This policy provides a specific interpretation of the University's Conflict of Interest Policy.
Policy
No company or firm in which an employee of Saginaw Valley State University or any member of such employee's immediate family holds an ownership interest of five percent (5%) or more shall be considered a vendor eligible to do business with the University. This policy shall remain in effect and applicable to any such company or firm for a period of time extending two (2) years following the termination of employment at the University by any such owner.
An exception may be granted to this general policy only upon specific determination by the University President that the best interests of the University would be seriously impaired by refusal to enter into a transaction with a particular vendor and that the transaction in question has not resulted from any unfair advantage available to the owner of the prospective vendor by virtue of his or her employment at the University.
Rationale
It is vitally important that this, a public institution, avoid even the appearance of impropriety, including the inference that certain prospective vendors might enjoy an unfair advantage in doing business with the University by virtue of the employment relationship of its owner with SVSU. The proposed limit on ownership interest by a University employee before a vendor is barred from eligibility -- at five percent (5%) -- is consistent with similar policies at other public universities in Michigan.
Adopted 10/09/89 BC