Nepotism

(Board Policy 410.1, revised May 27, 2021)

The University recognizes that potential conflicts of interest may exist when members of the same immediate family are employed by the University, particularly in the same department, unit, or division. To avoid conflicts of interest which may result from such employment, immediate family members should not participate in decisions to hire, retain, promote, evaluate, or determine the salary of the other. It is the responsibility of the President, each Chancellor, the Vice President for Agriculture, the Director of the Criminal Justice Institute, and the Director of the Arkansas Archeological Survey to assure that one immediate family member shall not have direction or supervision of the other and shall not participate in decisions to hire, retain, promote or determine the salary of the other.

To the extent permissible under State law, any exceptions shall be approved by the CEO of the campus, division, or unit; in a case involving the CEO, any exception shall be approved by the President. For purposes of this policy, “immediate family member” shall mean a husband, wife, mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, brother-in-law, sister-in law, daughter, son, stepdaughter, stepson, daughter in-law, son-in-law, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, or niece. An immediate family member also means an employee’s domestic partner, a person with whom an employee is in a romantic relationship, children of an employee’s domestic partner, and relatives of an employee’s spouse or domestic partner. This policy is supplementary to any provisions of applicable law.