Conflict of Interest in R&D

Maryland law encourages public senior higher education institutions to promote economic development in the State and to increase their arrangements with the private sector, including collaborative research and development, commercial application of institution-owned intellectual property, and provisions of technical assistance. To facilitate these purposes, under the Maryland Public Ethics Law, the Public-Private Partnership Act (Institutions of Higher Education) allows for the exemption of university personnel for some of the law's conflict of interest (COI) provisions.

In 2017, to further the economic and social impact of the university, and to bring Morgan in step with other Maryland research universities, the Morgan State University Board of Regents approved a new Conflict of Interest Policy in Research and Development. Concurrently, we established university Conflict of Interest Procedures, and both the Policy and Procedures have been approved by the State Ethics Commission.

A nine-member Morgan Conflict of Interest Committee (COIC) is comprised of six faculty members from across the campus, a representative from the Office of Academic Affairs, a representative from the Office of Technology Transfer, and the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, who serves as chair. The work of the COIC is to review faculty Conflict of Interest exemption requests for research and economic development activities, including those associated with faculty start-up companies, and make recommendations for university exemptions under Morgan's COI Policy and Procedures.