Sam Houston State University (SHSU) is governed by the Texas State University System (TSUS) as specified in the Texas Education Code, Chapter 96.61: “Sam Houston State University is a coeducational institution of higher education located in the city of Huntsville. It is under the management and control of the Board of Regents, Texas State University System” [1]. The policies addressing conflict of interest for the Board of Regents are noted in the TSUS Rules and Regulations.
The policy addressing conflict of interest for its board members is located in the TSUS Rules and Regulations, Chapter VIII, Section 3, entitled Conflicts of Interest [2]. Section 3.1 of this policy requires that “Each Regent, the Chancellor and the presidents of the components shall file a financial statement with the Texas Ethics Commission not later than April 30, each year . . .” [3]. Additionally, if Regents become aware of any potential conflict of interest, they must disclose this, along with any other relevant information, to the board, to the Vice Chancellor, and the General Counsel. The Vice Chancellor and General Counsel review the potential conflict and issue an appropriate opinion [4]. Section 3.2 states, “neither the System nor a component thereof may enter into a contract in which a Regent or the Regent’s spouse has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest” [5]. This policy goes on to state the following in Section 3.4:
A Regent who has a personal or private financial interest in a measure, proposal, or decision pending before the Board . . . shall disclose such interest in a public meeting of the Board, and such disclosure shall be entered in the minutes of the Board. The Board may consider such measure, proposal, or decision, but any Regent having such an interest shall not vote or otherwise participate in such deliberation or action of the Board [6].
This policy also covers the aspect of the Regent as a stockholder when it states the following in Section 3.3:
If a Regent is a stockholder or director of a corporation seeking to enter into a contract with the System or a component thereof, but owns or has a beneficial interest in no more than five percent of the corporation's outstanding capital stock, the contract may be executed so long as it is an affiliation agreement, license (including a license of intellectual property), or sponsored research agreement, or it is awarded by competitive bidding or competitive sealed proposals . . . the affected Regent must disclose such interest in a public meeting of the Board of Regents and shall not vote on the contract or transaction [7].
Finally, the policy also covers situations in which Regents may have interest in property to be acquired with public funds, as stated in Section 3.7:
Regents, the Chancellor and the president of the component are required to disclose any legal or equitable interest in property that is to be acquired with public funds. Such disclosure must be made at least 10 days before the date the property is to be acquired by purchase or condemnation [8].
Within the time period since the institution’s last reaffirmation report, the TSUS has not identified any conflicts of interest among its board members, and thus has not invoked policy actions as discussed above.