Department Chair Conflict of Interest Sample Policy

Department of Philosophy
Intra-campus Memorandum

Conflict of Interest Sample Policy printable PDF

Date: October 28, 2021

To: Matthew Semanoff, Associate Dean

From: Paul Muench, Chair

Re: Conflict of Interest Policy (Revised)

To address potential conflicts of interest in the workplace (see CBA 10.310), the Department of Philosophy has adopted the following policy:

  1. Conflicts of interest may exist when one faculty member of the Department serves as Chair of the Department, Chair of the FEC committee, or in some other capacity where she or he would be required to evaluate a spouse or significant other in the course of carrying out the normal duties of this position. Conflicts of interest may also exist when, in carrying out such duties, a faculty member would be required to evaluate herself/himself. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include: evaluation of a faculty member by the Chair as part of the faculty evaluation process; writing letters of recommendation for a fellowship or grant application; ranking of faculty members who have applied for merit promotions.
  2. To avoid such potential conflicts of interest, the faculty member in question will advise the Department as a whole of the potential conflict. In cases where more than one member of the Department must be ranked, the faculty member in question will exclude her/his spouse/significant other or the faculty member herself/himself but will complete the task with respect to the other members being evaluated. If a ranking must be assigned to the person who has been excluded, the Department shall appoint a disinterested faculty member to determine where on the list the excluded person should be placed.