Updated: 11/12/2009 3:33 PM KSTP.com | Print |  Email

Officials Present Draft U of M Ethics Policy

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - University of Minnesota officials say a draft ethics policy will provide comprehensive and unambiguous guidance for avoiding conflicts-of-interest.

University general counsel Mark Rotenberg presented the policy on Tuesday. It would ban faculty from several questionable practices, including product endorsements and ghostwriting research papers.

Rotenberg says the policy seeks to strike a balance between ethical behavior and maintaining relationships that university researchers have with private industry.

The university regents will hear a presentation on the policy on Thursday, then faculty and staff will have several weeks to give their feedback.

The policy comes as the public has grown increasingly concerned about financial relationships between researchers and private companies.

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)