Section 8.03. Standards of conduct.

 

(1)   Personal gain from university position.

(a) No member of the unclassified staff may, in a manner contrary to the interests of the University of Wisconsin System, use or attempt to use his or her public position or state property, including property leased by the state, to gain or attempt to gain anything of substantial value for the private benefit of the staff member, his or her immediate family or any organization with which the staff member is associated.

(b) No member of the unclassified staff may solicit or accept from any person or organization anything of value pursuant to an express or implied understanding that his or her conduct of university business would be influenced thereby.

(c) No member of the unclassified staff may intentionally use or disclose confidential university information in any way that could result in the receipt of anything of value for himself or herself, for his or her immediate family or for any other person or organization with which the staff member is associated.

(2)   Contracting and leasing.

(a) No member of the unclassified staff, member of his or her immediate family, nor any organization with which an unclassified staff member is associated, may enter into any contract or lease involving payments of $3,000 or more within a 12 month period, derived in whole or in part from university funds, if the staff member is in a position to approve or influence, in his or her official capacity, the university's decision to enter into the contract or lease.

(b) If the staff member is not in a position to approve or influence the university's decision, the staff member may enter into a contract or lease described in par. (a) if the staff member first makes written disclosure of the nature and extent of any relationship described in par. (a) to the dean, director, or other appropriate administrator and he or she approves. The dean, director or other appropriate administrator shall approve a staff member's interest in a lease or contract unless he or she determines that the staff member's personal interest in the agreement will conflict substantially and materially with the staff member's discharge of his or her university responsibilities.

(c) This subsection does not affect the application of s. 946.13 , Stats.

(3)   Nepotism.

(a) No member of the unclassified staff may participate, formally or informally, in the decision to hire, retain, grant tenure to, promote or determine the salary of a member of his or her immediate family.

(b) No member of the unclassified staff may, in the supervision or management of another unclassified staff member who is a member of his or her immediate family, give preferential or favored treatment.

(4)   Student research protection. A member of the unclassified staff shall inform students engaged in research under his or her supervision of any financial interest which the unclassified staff member has in the research activity, including, but not limited to, financial arrangements involved in the direct support of the activity, agreements made by the unclassified staff member to obtain data for the research, or agreements concerning copyright or patent rights arising from the research.

(5)   Waiver. The board may, upon written request and by action within a reasonable time of receipt thereof, waive any provision of this section whenever its literal application would be adverse to the best interests of the University of Wisconsin System or would work an unreasonable hardship on a member of the unclassified staff.

History: Cr. Register, June, 1975, No. 234 , eff. 7-1-75; r. and recr. Register, January, 1986, No. 361 , eff. 2-1-86; 2015 Wis. Act 330 s. 20 : am. (1) (a), (5) Register April 2016 No. 724 , eff. 5-1-16.