13-600 Office of the President Contract and Grant Authority - General

13-610 Delegation of Contract and Grant Authority

The President of the University has delegated to the Provost and Executive Vice President – Academic Affairs all of the authority to solicit and accept certain grants and execute certain contracts under Standing Order 100.4(dd). This authority has been redelegated to the Vice President—Office of Research and Graduate Studies who in turn has redelegated it to
the Executive Director—Research Policy Analysis and Coordination (RPAC). The delegation of contracts and grants authority by the President to the Provost and Executive Vice President includes:

….includes the authority to solicit and accept or execute contracts and grants for research, scholarly or professional training, or for public service programs relating either to research or to scholarly or professional training, including the signing of related documents as necessary.  This authority excludes those grants, contracts, or related documents which contain provisions falling within the restrictions and limitations set forth in Standing Order 100.4(dd).  Notwithstanding Standing Order 100.4(dd)(9), you may exercise certain authorities granted to the Provost and Executive Vice President— Academic Affairs under DA2239 for the approval of indemnification terms in certain limited agreements in support of research.

For purposes of this delegation, the term grant includes grants from private sources, but excludes gifts as defined in the Policy Guidelines for Review of Gifts/Grants for Research, issued by the President on July 8, 1980.
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In addition, you are authorized to act for the President in those instances when the President has authority granted by The Regents to solicit and accept or execute grants and contracts, and to sign related documents as necessary, including authority granted by subsequent amendments to Standing Order 100.4(dd).

The last paragraph quoted above of this delegation is significant because it defines the authority delegated to the Provost and Executive Vice President—Academic Affairs as more comprehensive than the authority delegated to others.  The Provost and Executive Vice President—Academic Affairs and those to whom the authority is redelegated within the Office of the President act on all matters relative to contracts and grants with the same authority as the President, and are bound by the same limitations on that authority as reserved by The Regents. This means that once an item has been approved, as required under 100.4(dd), those with delegated authority within the Office of the President are authorized to execute all future actions related to the approved agreement.  By contrast, delegation of contract and grant authority to Chancellors (see Section 13-700) and the Laboratory Director (see Section 13-900) is more limited. Their delegation requires that, on a case by case basis (i.e. for each individual award), authority to take any action on an item requiring approval by The Regents or the President be individually delegated to the campus or Laboratory by the President.

Further, the delegation to the Provost and Executive Vice President—Academic Affairs includes powers granted to the President authorized by subsequent amendments to the Standing Orders, while the delegation to the Chancellors, the Laboratory Director, and Vice President-Agriculture and Natural Resources, is restricted to those limitations outlined in the Standing Order 100.4(dd) as of the date of their delegations, until a new delegation of authority is issued by the President. Finally, the Provost and Executive Vice President—Academic Affairs has authority to approve certain indemnification provisions set forth in a separate delegation (DA2239). (See Chapter 21- 430 of this Manual.)

13-620 Restrictions on Office of the President Contract and Grant Authority by Board of Regents

Exceptions to the contract and grant authority of the President of the University, which require specific authorization by resolution of the Board, are stated in Standing Order 100.4(dd) (1) through (9) (see Section 13-510).  The delegation of authority to the Provost and Executive Vice President—Academic Affairs and redelegations within the Office of the President include the same restrictions as outlined in Standing Order 100.4(dd)(1) through (9).  However, as outlined in Section 13-610, the delegations of authority to the Provost and Executive Vice President— Academic Affairs and redelegated within the Office of the President do include powers granted to the President of the University by subsequent amendments to the Standing Orders.  The emergency authority of the President of the University under Standing Order 100.4(ee) has not been delegated to Contract and Grant Officers in the Office of the President (see Section 13- 520).

13-630 Review for Legal Sufficiency

The delegation of contract and grant authority from the President states:

A critical factor in processing contracts and grants is the review for legal sufficiency. Responsibility for accomplishing that review must be assigned specifically as a part of any redelegation by you. Attached is a copy of a pertinent Office of General Counsel memorandum dated March 27, 1974 which provides guidance on this particular point. Whenever there is any question as to whether a particular grant or contract requires legal review, General Counsel's advice shall be obtained.

Section 13-333 contains the text of the Checklist enclosed with the March 27, 1974, memorandum referenced in the delegation of authority, and which may be used as a guide for reviewing a document for legal sufficiency.  It is the responsibility of all Contract and Grant Officers who have delegated authority to sign agreements to make the determination as to whether the agreement requires advice from the Office of General Counsel, and if it does, to obtain this advice prior to execution.  Sections 13-331 and 13-334 discuss the responsibility of the Office of General Counsel for providing legal advice and the scope of that advice.