External Professional Agreements

Faculty members face many outside opportunities that extend beyond their employment and professional commitment to the School of Medicine. These outside-the-School activities may necessitate an external professional agreement.

Prior approval from the Dean’s Office is required—regardless of external compensation—before a faculty member can agree to and execute an external professional agreement. Allow at least XXNUMBER weeks to obtain the final agreement.

Approval will be given only if the activity:

1. Provides a clear benefit to the institution or enhances the academic reputation of the faculty member
2. Is academic in nature
3. Will not cause a conflict of commitment
4. Is acceptable within the Dean's Policy Concerning Professionalism, Consulting and Other Interactions with Industry

Review Process for External Professional Commitments

Step 1 – Review by Academic Unit Leader

Faculty member must gain approval from their chair, division chief, or institute/center director before contacting the Dean’s Office.

Step 2 – Review by Dean's Office

Once approval is gained in Step 1, send a copy of the following to Joni Prasad for review:

• Proposed consulting agreement contract
• Scope of work
• Information on proposed compensation and time commitment
• Involvement with the company’s sponsored research

The review will consider all relevant factors including:

• SOM, UMB, and USM policies
• Conflict of commitment
• Fair market value compensation
• Scope of work that meets the Dean's consulting guidelines, e.g. not engaging in marketing or promotional activities on behalf of a company, not participating in a speaker's bureau, and not presenting company without having sole control of the slides and talk
• Conflict of interest

Step 3 – Review by UMB

If the agreement poses (a) conflict of interest, (b) State of Maryland Ethics law concern, or (c) intellectual property terminology issue, then a review may be required by the UMB COI Office, the UMB President’s Office and/or the UMB Office of Technology Transfer.

Step 4 – eDisclose and Annual Disclosure

Once approved, the external professional agreement must be entered into eDisclose within 30 days and also included in the annual disclosure. Approval is for the term of the agreement if specified or for one year.

Start-Up Companies

Prior approval is required in order to start a company to develop a discovery or invention. This approval is necessary to avoid conflicts with the Maryland State Ethics law, and to abide by USM, UMB, and SOM policies.

Step 1 – Office of Technology Transfer

Disclose intellectual property to the UMB Office of Technology Transfer. They will provide the appropriate next steps.

Step 2 – External Professional Agreement Process

Prior to starting a company, follow the same approval steps outlined above for an external professional agreement.

FAQ | External Professional Agreements