Columbia Business School faculty members have approved revised recommendations — based on the University’s policies — for disclosing potential conflicts of interest. According to the policy recommendations, passed at a May 10 faculty meeting, School professors must publicly disclose all outside activities that create or appear to create conflicts of interest. Outside activities include paid or unpaid consulting, research, serving on a company’s board, and expert witness testimony. To disclose such activities, faculty members are required to maintain a current version of their curriculum vitae, which should include outside activities for the past five years, on the School’s official website. A section on outside activities must also be included in professors’ annual Faculty Activity Reports.
The Dean’s Office will monitor and enforce compliance with the updated policy. The stricter measures come on the heels of increased vigilance following the recent financial crisis and supersede the School’s previous recommendations, approved in 2009. The recommendations further state that, "Increasing transparency about research and real or apparent conflicts of interest and commitment helps Columbia Business School strengthen its reputation as a center of world-class research and teaching."