It seems like every day the news reports on another conflict-of-interest breach by elected officials, judges or other high-profile individuals. But universities are also susceptible to conflicts of interest. The University of New Mexico is committed to educating employees about conflicts of interest and how to avoid them.
“For the last two years, conflicts of interest have been a priority area for UNM,” explained Beckham Rivera, UNM compliance programs manager. “Under UNM President Garnett Stokes’s initiative, groups within the organization have been working to raise the standard and clarify conflicts of interest and other ethical behavior.”
Part of raising the standards includes holding an annual Compliance Week aimed at increasing awareness.
UNM Compliance Week is happening Nov. 7 to Nov. 13, 2021, in conjunction with many other organizations participating in Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week. Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week began in 2005 to grow awareness, recognition and reinforcement of the importance of compliance and ethics.
Next week, UNM will host daily events to spread awareness about compliance and ethics on campus. Participants will have multiple opportunities to learn, meet compliance partners, and share their thoughts on what they think ethical conduct looks like.
“Our hope is that the week will be a time to highlight key compliance areas for the University, promotes campus-wide ethical culture, and reminds us that we are all partners in ensuring a compliant workplace,” said Rivera.
New this year, the UNM Office of Compliance, Ethics & Equal Opportunity (CEEO) is conducting a contest for the best quote, meme, image, or logo that best explains what Conflict of Interest looks like on a university campus, or how to best can recognize or prevent such a conflict.
CEEO will appoint a three-judge independent panel to select the winners. All students, staff, and faculty from all of UNM’s campuses are encouraged to submit an entry. There will be first, second and third place prizes.
Entry Guidelines
- Theme for submission is Conflict of Interest within a University setting
- Deadline for submission: Friday, Nov. 12 by 11:59 pm MST
- Submit your entry to CEEO
- Submissions should be no larger than 6x5 inches
- Text-based submissions are limited to 200 characters
- Submission content should follow University policies
- One submission per person
- Winning submissions may be subject to University branding standards
- Winners will be announced on Friday, Nov. 19