Blogger David Newquist of Aberdeen offers his take at www.northernbeacon.blogspot.com and comes out against South Dakota State University president David Chicoine serving on the Monsanto corporation’s board of directors. Here’s a taste:
“The small-minded, mean, and ignorant carping of the small-town cafes has been interjected into the discussion of SDSU President David Chicoine’s dual service on the board of Monsanto, for which he gets paid $195,000 plus that same amount in stock. That amounts to a value of $380,000 compared to his annual salary at SDSU of $320,000.”
#1 by coralhei on October 27, 2009 - 4:58 am
…of course the substance of Dr. Newquist’s (and Rep. Hunhoff’s, and Sen. Kloucek’s, and my) argument rests on the inconsistency of Dr. Chicoine’s position with Board of Regents policy for all other staff and with the academic integrity of our largest university.
#2 by David Newquist on October 27, 2009 - 9:48 am
I did not directly state opposition as much as point out the discrepancy between this service on the Monsanto board and BOR policy. Aside from the paragraph I quoted on the policy; the BOR has an elaborate procedure for dealing with such instances. It requires the submission of a statement, the approval of such an arrangement by the chief academic officer (which is Dr. Chicoine in this case), a set of rules to be followed, which provide that any intellectual property rights or other benefits accrue to the university.
College faculty are often asked to serve on boards to which they can contribute expertise;, but they are generally provided expenses and a limited honorarium, not with compensation that is equivalent to or exceeds the compensation from the institution with which the faculty member has a contract.
Dr. Chicoine may well continue to serve on the Monsanto Board, but the BOR may wish to revise its policy so that other professors may avail themselves of such opportunities. If the policy were revised, however, it would be at wide variance with what is the nationally accepted conflict-of-interest policy.
#3 by Bob Mercer on October 27, 2009 - 4:17 pm
Further food for thought: Should state university presidents and their spouses contribute to political campaigns? Curious what Corey and David think…