The University, Industry, and Cooperative Research

Yale University intends to issue a statement of policy governing the nature and extent of university and faculty involvement in the commercial application of scientific research. This policy will be based on the university's principles of openness and free dissemination of ideas, and will recognize the need of profit-oriented companies to treat knowledge as private property. The university will continue to allow relationships between faculty members and commercial companies, even in arrangements involving university-based results, but a faculty member who goes beyond any reasonable definition of "consulting" may be asked to take an unpaid leave of absence or to sever his or her ties with the university. While a university should not ignore the potential availability of funds from commercial sponsors, neither should it be driven to arrangements that are not compatible with the norms and mission of the university.