Conflict of Commitment

Institutional Policies

Various organizations have begun to address the ethical issues surrounding conflicts of commitment. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), for example, “conflict of commitment” refers to an individual faculty member's distribution of effort between obligations to his or her academic appointment and his or her commitment to outside activities. The AAMC stipulates that a conflict of commitment exists when outside activities interfere with the employee's obligations to students, colleagues, and the primary missions of the academic institution at which he or she is employed (AAMC, 1990).

At the same time, guidelines from the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) emphasize the legal obligation of faculty members or other academic staff members to devote their primary effort and allegiance to their employers. The guidelines caution that any effort to divert to other entities or institutions opportunities for research, education, clinical care, or financial support that might come to the employer constitutes an inappropriate conflict of commitment (Euben, 2004).

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has not issued a specific statement on conflicts of commitment. However, AAUP policies do address the issue. For instance, in its Statement on Professional Ethics, the AAUP asserts that “Professors give due regard to their paramount responsibilities within their institution in determining the amount and character of work done outside it” (AAUP, 1987, <j¶ 4). As early as 1965, the AAUP and the American Council on Education recommended that universities develop guidelines to help individual staff members understand how to conduct outside interests that might generate conflicts of interest (“On Preventing Conflicts,” 1965).

Employers in higher or postsecondary education have attempted to manage conflicts of commitment by establishing institutional definitions, policies, and procedures. A simple Internet search of “conflict of commitment” on Google reveals literally thousands of references to institutional definitions, policies, and procedures governing conflicts of commitment at universities and colleges. All of these references include elements of faculty and staff members' obligations to their students and employers and the need to balance outside activities to permit fulfillment of their work obligations. They also acknowledge employees' rights to conduct outside work such as consulting, holding public office, publishing, researching, serving on the board of directors of an outside organization, serving as an elected officer of an academic organization, serving as an editor of a scholarly publication, starting an outside company, and teaching. More specifically, employees in institutions of higher learning in some states are prohibited from holding public office at the same time that they hold teaching appointments due to state restrictions against receiving dual compensation from public funding.

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