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| Policies | |
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| Contracting Policy |
The term “contract” includes any agreement with a third party. Leases, drug study agreements, major equipment purchases, affiliation agreements, transplant and managed care agreements, among other transactions, are contracts.
Contracts to which Washington University is a part and which purport to bind the University to duties and obligations under the contract can only be signed by officers and expressly authorized employees of the University.
When entering into a contract, it is important to remember that the proper contracting party is “Washington University”. The various departments and schools within the University are not separate legal entities and cannot technically be a party to a contract. It is acceptable to state the contracting party as “Washington University, on behalf of its School of Medicine, Department of ______________________”.
In general, members of the faculty do not have the authority to sign contracts. Faculty members may create personal liability problems for themselves by signing contracts that purport to bind the University.
At the School of Medicine, contracts normally are signed by Executive Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs/Dean or a designated member of the staff. Many contracts now include the Department Head’s signature as an additional internal safeguard that acknowledges the Department’s acceptance of the contractual responsibilities. However, a Department Head’s signature may not be substituted for the Executive Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs signature.
All Medical School contracts must be approved by legal counsel prior to execution. In order to expedite execution of your contracts, they should be sent to the Medical School General Counsel’s Office who will review the contract and will send it to the Executive Vice Chancellor/Dean for signature. A description of the Medical School’s contract execution procedure is listed below:
1. All original contracts are retained in the Master Contract File in the General Counsel’s Office, East Building, room 1402.
2. All Medical School contracts, including WUPN agreements, must be approved by the General Counsel’s Office prior to execution.
3. Medical School contracts are executed by the Executive Vice Chancellor/Dean with the exception of managed care contracts, which may be signed by either the Associate Vice Chancellor/Dean for Administration & Finance or Clinical Affairs.
4. In order to obtain a signature, all contracts should be sent to the General Counsel’s Office for review.
5. Upon satisfactory review, the General Counsel’s Office will forward the document to the Associate Vice Chancellor/Dean for Administration & Finance for approval prior to getting the signature of the Executive Vice Chancellor/Dean.
6. After execution, all contracts are returned to the General Counsel’s office for distribution.
For further information regarding this policy, you can contact the General Counsel’s Office at 362-3633.
Published 3/97
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