At our university we have authorized individuals sign for the university
and then we follow up by having all individuals working on the project,
including graduate students sign a separate agreement that states that
they have read and understand the terms and conditions of the agreement
and agree to abide by them.

Mike Gilles
Sponsored Programs Administrator
Michigan Technological University

On Aug 5,  8:53am, Ross, Stuart wrote:
> Subject: signing nondisclosure agreements
> >From time to time we have to execute a nondisclosure agreement with a
> commercial firm, and I have always been a bit uncertain about who
should
> sign.  The senior executives can sign for the institution, but in an
> academic environment they do not normally have enough day-to-day
control
> over the handling of the information; the professor does control the
> information flow but can't sign for the institution.  When the
agreement
> is not part of a sponsored project, the institution has even less
formal
> control.  I've had it done a few different ways now.  Fortunately
there
> has been no bad incident, but I'd appreciate any advice or tips on how
> to make the commitment to such agreements solid and useful.
>
> Stuart Ross
> Director, Grants & Contracts
> California State University, Fullerton
> xxxxxx@fullerton.edu
>-- End of excerpt from Ross, Stuart