According to the Minneapolis Star Ledger a draft policy requiring faculty, researchers and staff to file annual reports disclosing any financial interests that overlap with their work was passed by a committee at the University of Minnesota last week. The university has already proposed a wide-ranging conflict of interest policy that bans controversial practices such as ghostwriting in research publications, promotional talks including non medical faculty and gifts from industry including text books.
According to the press release, a committee within the university will review the reports to determine if a conflict exists. If the policy is adopted, any faculty and staff who do not comply could face termination. The university wide policy was proposed after a medical school task force crafted a similar policy in 2008. Some version of the policy is expected to be adopted within 90 days.
University of Minnesota’s general counsel, Mark Rotenberg, said “the university needs to balance the need to collaborate on new products and technologies with industry in a way that does not create a conflict of interest and an erosion of the public's trust.”
According to sources at the University this has several departments outside of medicine fuming. Engineering, computer science and others include world renowned faculty that draw large honorarium for industry consulting and talks. The departments are concerned these bans will be unnecessary restrictions and limit new faculty recruitment.
Rotenberg however also noted that while many medical schools across the country have tightened regulations governing these relationships, university-wide policies are fairly rare.