2025 Outside Activity Disclosure reminder
July 11, 2025
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy.
Get your disclosures in, so no one looks sleazy.
(with apologies to George Gershwin)
I make this solemn promise that this will be the last time you will have to suffer through one of my reminder memos on this topic. (Next time, you will need to suffer through someone else’s reminder memo on this topic.)
All University Ӱԭs (including regular, term, temporary, student and full and part-time faculty and staff) are responsible for complying with the Ӱԭ Executive Branch Ethics Act (Ӱԭ Statute 39.52).
The Act sets standards for how we do our University jobs, and to a lesser extent,
may limit our non-University activities. For example, the Act regulates: benefitting
our own personal or financial interests through official action; misuse of official
position; solicitation or receipt of gifts; improper influence in university grants,
contracts, leases or loans; improper representation; outside activities; and restrictions
on employment after leaving the University. See the attached “Quick reference” or
the web site listed below for more information.
As part of this ethical obligation, we must disclose any work we perform outside of
our University employment, including any self-employment, independent contracting,
or consulting. All compensated outside activities are to be disclosed, and even volunteer
outside work, if we get reimbursed for anything connected to that volunteer work (travel,
meals, etc.), or if the volunteer work might involve the same issues or people as
our University duties, or interfere with our University responsibilities. (However,
Ӱԭs with no outside activities are not required to submit the form.)
Outside activity is to be disclosed within 30 days of starting (or resuming) University
employment. Thereafter, any additional outside employment is to be reported prior
to beginning that non-UA employment (bearing in mind that if your UA supervisor finds
that an adverse effect from your outside employment is possible, you may not start
that outside employment unless and until your supervisor or the designated ethics
supervisor gives approval). Updated outside employment forms are required as significant
changes in that outside employment occur.
Outside employment is also to be reported every July 1, even if a form was previously submitted. The supervisor makes an initial determination about possible adverse effect on employment and forwards the form to the designated UAA, Ӱԭ, UAS, or SW ethics representative for review. The outside activity disclosure form, and others, are all available through the forms directory page here.
Remember that there are different forms for making other disclosures. For example, there is a separate form for disclosing Ӱԭ and Ӱԭ family member interests in contracts with the University; these must be disclosed and pre-approved using the “Interest in Contracts, Grants, Leases, or Loans” form. This and other disclosure forms (Notification of Receipt of Gift in Excess of $150, Disclosure of Employment of Immediate Family Members, etc.) are available on the ethics forms directory page linked above.
There are FAQs on outside activity and other ethics act reference materials on the website. Additional information regarding the Ethics Act can be found at .
You may be required to submit other more specialized disclosures if you engage in sponsored research. Please contact your research compliance officer for further information.
Thank you for your cooperation. Feel free to contact me, or your even friendlier individual University ethics designees (listed here), if you have questions.
-Andy Harrington, UA Designated Ethics Supervisor