What is a conflict of interest?
A conflict of interest exists whenever an employee’s personal, professional, commercial, or financial interests or activities outside of the University have the possibility (whether potential, real, or perceived) of:
- Compromising the employee’s judgment;
- Biasing the nature or direction of scholarship;
- Influencing the employee’s decision or behavior with respect to teaching, student affairs, promotions and appointments, use of campus resources, interaction with human subjects, or other matters of interest to the University; or
- Resulting in personal or a family member’s gain or advancement at the expense of the University.
The conflict exists by virtue of a relationship that could result in an undue influence on the employee’s professional judgment. You do not have to do anything improper to have a conflict of interest; it is strictly situational.
UC Berkeley Conflict of Interest Coordinator
The UC Berkeley Conflict of Interest Coordinator can be contacted at conflict@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail)