I don't understand how your scientist could have an NIH grant without being
employed somewhere, but--our school is sometimes sought as platform from
which to apply for grants by non-employees (e.g. retired scientists, persons
in private practice, etc.) who have adjunct appointments. We have a policy
which requires a chair to sign a letter to the dean before the application
leaves with a detailed account of arrangements for space and administrative
services, and certifies that arrangements about employment have been
explained to the prospective grantee--i.e., when the grant ends you go off
the payroll. I've never liked the implications of this because it seems to
subvert all the normal processes and controls that apply to hiring a faculty
member; so far though, none of these folks have received an award, so the
sleeping dog lies unmolested.
When I last asked the List about such arrangements, though, I learned of
something called an Agency Agreement. It's an agreement that establishes a
person as an agent of your organization rather than an employee. The
organization can write any conditions it wants to into the agreement--length
of the agreement, arrangements for space, etc. I believe such agents can be
paid through the payroll system, receive benefits and have taxes deducted.
I never pursued the matter, but your school's attorney can probably tell you
more.
-----Original Message-----
From: William Campbell [mailto:xxxxxx@UWRF.EDU]
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2000 10:02 AM
To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
Subject: query, adjunct researchers
RESADM-ers:
Some years ago, my institution took on a local scientist who had an NIH
grant in hand and needed an institutional home. We overhauled a lab for
him, put him and a couple of additional researchers on the payroll (using
grant funds, of course), bought and installed some equipment and let him do
his thing. He brought in a lot of his own stuff as well, much of it
scavenged from elsewhere.
The project ended after five years--got some interesting results but no
additional funding--and he went away. But not completely. He left behind
all sorts of papers, equipment, and junk, some of which we finally pitched.
Now he's unhappy about the way we disposed of his stuff and is threatening
to sue. We'll work through this, but I've been wondering how we could have
avoided the mess.
So my question is, does anyone have a policy which governs such ad hoc
relationships for adjunct researchers? (I suppose if you have a policy then
such relationships are no longer ad hoc at your institution. They are ad
hoc for us, though, that's part of our difficulty.) Some boilerplate for an
agreement, perhaps? I understand that no agreement can ever handle every
possible eventuality--who would have predicted that this guy would steal
equipment from elsewhere, leave it behind, and then complain when we dispose
of it? Still, if we had something, a framework at least, on paper going
into the relationship it would be easier to sever when it sours.
Thanks and regards, Bill
Bill Campbell
Director, Grants & Research
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
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