Ethical Guidelines

All faculty, staff and students must avoid conflicts of interest between their obligations to the University and their personal affairs. No faculty, staff member or student should have an economic interest in, or relationship with, any supplier, person or corporation doing business with the University if there is a chance it could influence the employee's or student's actions on behalf of the University. All BEN Buys users, Purchasing and Travel Card cardholders must adhere to the Purchasing Code of Ethics and conflict of interest statements.

All University employees and students in the University's decentralized purchasing environment must be sensitive to issues of confidentiality. It is improper and prohibited to discuss and/or share pricing information, trade secrets or proprietary information with or among suppliers. The University actively encourages an open academic environment where teaching, conducting research, and disseminating knowledge are the principal goals of the Institution. To further these missions, the University has relied and shall continue to rely on the good judgment, professional commitment and moral ethics of the University members to protect themselves and the University from conflicts of interest and buying ethics.

In order to avoid a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, no University employee shall solicit or accept any gift, favor, loan, gratuity, reward, or promise of future employment that might influence or appear to influence the judgment or conduct of the employee vis-à-vis University business. Employees may accept occasional unsolicited courtesy gifts or favors (such as business lunches, tickets to social or sporting events or holiday baskets) so long as the gifts or favors are of nominal market value (less than $25), are customary in the industry, and will not influence or appear to influence the judgment or conduct of the employee vis-à-vis University business.