Dive Brief:
- A new set of conflict-of-interest regulations will disallow senior administrators in the Texas A&M University System from contracting with service vendors if they or their family members have a financial stake in those vendors, according to Inside Higher Ed. The system's Board of Regents voted on the new rules Wednesday, weeks after a senior administrator was removed following an investigation.
- The system said the new rules were some of the most restrictive of any higher ed system within Texas. A "business interest" is defined as an administrator having a 1% or greater ownership interest in the vendor or service provider, or if one could "reasonably foresee" how it could financially benefit an employee.
- In the case of the new regulations, family members are defined as spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren. Spouses' relatives and the spouses of the previously mentioned individuals are also included, and the administrators included under the new rules will have to file annual financial reports.
Dive Insight:
Such regulations as those being implemented at Texas A&M could help institutions steer clear of any potential scandals, especially considering the spate of college presidential tenures that have ended prematurely due to controversies on campus that led to a lack of support and trust in senior school officials.
Particularly as higher ed continues to look outside of academia into the public and private sector for potential candidates for the role of college president, conflict-of-interest regulations could offer comfort to faculty and administration that the institution's health will remain paramount, even in the case of an outside hire that may have a wide array of business contacts or investments. Boards of Trustees for schools are increasingly willing to renege on their support of college presidents if they feel that they are not delivering or are not supported by the school, and strong conflict-of-interest regulations could be one aspect of institutional administrative law that could offer the impression that a private sector hire is beyond reproach and not taking into account other business stakes they may have.