We have an issue that crops up occasionally with respect to liability
and we are interested in how other universities have handled this:
Our College of Architecture has an interest in faculty and students
engaging in "design/build" projects.  To date, our position has been
that it is OK to engage in "conceptual design" and to go no
further--that is, provide no specifications and do not engage in any
aspect of construction, whether directly or indirectly (such as
coordination and/or oversight of the contractor's activities).

If your university goes beyond conceptual design, or has done so in
the past, how did you handle liability?  If your university has dealt
with this issue and if you have a written policy, we would be much
interested in receiving a copy of the policy or the web address.   We
are interested in any experience that you believe might be helpful to
us as we consider establishing a written policy.

While we understand the faculty position that this is an important
educational experience for students and that the applied research
aspect is invaluable to faculty, the liability issue is significant.
If you have found a creative solution to this dilemma, we are
interested in your experience.   So far, we see no reasonable solution
that would permit activities beyond conceptual design.

Our university's risk manager inquired into purchasing insurance for
the university that would cover these projects and was unsuccessful.
As I understand it, this type of insurance is not available to a
university and the insurers (who provide the insurance for practicing
professionals in the field of architecture) view this as an
inappropriate activity for a university.

Sharon Armbrust, Director
Contracts and Grants Office
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana  47306

Phone:  765-285-5289
Fax:       765-285-5224
E-mail:   xxxxxx@bsu.edu

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