ABOUT UNIVERSITY GIFT ACCEPTANCE

A “gift” is defined as any piece of equipment or tangible item (other than travel) received from non-federal entities and federal employees acting in their personal capacities.

Before a department approaches the Vice President for External Affairs concerning a possible gift/donation to the University, each of the following steps must occur:  the Chair must evaluate the item(s) to determine the utility and appropriateness of the item(s) to be donated/accepted.  This evaluation must include a determination as to whether the cost of acceptance and maintenance is disproportionate to any benefit.    If the gift/donation (such as equipment) will require installation or maintenance, it is up to the department Chair to develop the plan and resources for financing the transportation/installation/maintenance.   The Chair must also coordinate with and receive concurrence from any office that will be impacted by the item(s).  For example, all computer equipment must be cleared and deemed acceptable by NOC; a request must be submitted through the USUHS Service Desk’s online portal.  All equipment must be channeled through the Property Management Office in Logistics for proper transfer/documentation/tagging after the Chair’s initial approval.  Any requests received without the Chair’s consent/approval will be returned immediately to the sender.

After review, if the department Chair deems the item(s) useful and would like to accept them, he/she must initiate an acceptance process that starts with the Office of External Affairs.  The request will then be vetted by the University’s General Counsel, who will deem the gift allowable or unsuitable for acceptance according to established regulations.  If deemed allowable, the gift will then be formally accepted by the Vice President for External Affairs.  It will then be logged into a database and subsequently reported to the University’s Board of Regents quarterly.

Step 1: Send a memorandum signed by the department chair addressing the specific issues in the attached format to Keith Van Nostrand at keith.vannostrand@usuhs.edu(link sends e-mail).

Step 2: Review by Mr. Van Nostrand, Office of External Affairs. 

Step 3: Review by General Counsel.

Step 4: Acceptance or non-acceptance by the Vice President for External Affairs.

If the gift is deemed acceptable, the Office of External Affairs will contact the submitter to inform them that they can accept the gift and send a “thank you” letter to the donor.  If denied, the Office of External Affairs will inform the submitter and explain the specific details as to why the gift is not allowed to be accepted.

Step 5: Recording of information into External Affairs database.

Please note: 

The chair’s endorsement indicates that the request has been thoroughly reviewed and that any inherent expenses, logistics, transportation, delivery, setup, installation, etc., will be covered by the department.

OGC’s endorsement means that it has no legal objections to accepting this gift/donation.

VPE’s endorsement indicates that permission is granted to accept the gift/donation.

Click here for gift issues during the COVID-19 Pandemic.