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Conflict of interest relates to situation in which financial or other personal considerations may compromise, may involve the potential for compromising, or may have the appearance of compromising a Trustee’s and/or employee’s objectivity in meeting College duties or responsibilities, including research activities. The bias that such conflicts may impart can affect many College duties, including decisions about personnel, the purchase of equipment and other supplies, the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, the sharing of research results, the choice of research protocols, the use of statistical methods, and the mentoring and judgment of student work. A Trustee and/or employee may have conflict of interest when he or she, or any member of that person’s immediate family, has a personal interest in an activity that may affect decision making with respect to College teaching, research, or administration.

If any such Trustee and/or employee owns or controls a direct interest in any such materials, services, equipment, or property included or proposed to be furnished to or acquired by the College, he or she shall immediately disclose the same in writing to the College and such disclosure shall be entered upon the Minutes of the Board.

Violation of the State’s conflict of interest law for public servants, NCGS 14-234, is a criminal offense. A trustee and/or employee could be in violation of the law if the trustee and/or employee derives a direct benefit from a contract that the College might or has entered into. In the event a trustee and/or employee suspects there may be a conflict of interest under NCGS 14-234, he or she must immediately disclose the conflict to the Board, or if the Board is not in session, to the Chair of the Board and President. The Chair or President must seek legal counsel if such a disclosure is made or either of them suspects that a trustee and/or employee is in violation of NCGS 14-234.