Wichita State University encourages and values international collaborations and is committed to academic freedom and the ability of our researchers and scholars to communicate, exchange ideas, and collaborate with their counterparts around the world. However, it is critical that our investigators be transparent about their foreign relationships and activities so as not to jeopardize eligibility for future funding. This transparency protects you, your international collaborators, the Federal government, and WSU as a whole. Timely and full disclosure of all international activities allows the university to conduct appropriate review to determine if there are any actual or potential conflicts of commitment or interest, duplication of research, and/or diversion of intellectual property in the performance of federally-funded research. Failure to disclose all relationships, regardless of whether these relationships and collaborations are tied to any funding, could result in the termination of project funding and potential ineligibility for future funding both for individual projects and researchers and for the university as a whole.
Multiple federal agencies have taken steps to guard against and mitigate the effects of improper foreign influence both with regard to their own personnel as well as federally-funded researchers at U.S. academic institutions. It is imperative that all of us remain cognizant of the Federal government’s continued concerns and response to foreign influence and the actions we as a research university must take in response to these realities.
In an effort to keep our entire campus community informed, below is a summary of the latest agency guidance regarding federally-funded research. This page will be updated with any additional correspondence that we receive from federal agencies, as well as other tools and resources, as they become available.
We recognize that these issues are complex and navigating them can be overwhelming. Staff in the offices that support research and contracting are dedicated to working together with you to protect the integrity of your research and that of our entire university in these changing times. In the meantime, it is critical that you work with the Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT) and the Office of General Counsel for all research activities, regardless of subject matter, dollar amount, or sponsorship.