Policy
for Signature Authority on Grants and Contracts
A Principal Investigator (PI), Project Director (PD), Department
Head, or other faculty or staff employees of Mesa State should
never sign a sponsored program proposal, contract or grant on
behalf of Mesa State. Statutory authority to sign these types
of documents rests with the President. This authority is derived
from Colorado Statues, Trustees Policy, and institutional policies.
The President has specifically designated the Vice President of
Academic and Student Affairs as the signatory authority on all
contracts, grants, agreements and/or proposals and applications
for sponsored programs. This policy does not preclude PI'S, PD's,
Department Head's, and other individuals from signing internal
processing documents or the proposal or award if so called for
by the funding agency, however, the proposal or award document
must also contain the signature of the Vice President of Academic
and Student Affairs .
For a contract to have validity and enforceability, it must be
signed by a person with specific statutory delegation to sign
on behalf of the state. As described above, for research grants,
contracts, agreements, and proposals, this authority has been
delegated to the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs.
Therefore, if a sponsored program proposal or award is NOT signed
by the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs,
the contract, grant, agreement, proposal or application is void
and unenforceable.
Key reasons behind the policies relating to signatory authority
include:
Protecting Mesa State and individual college employees from legal
liabilities, and maintaining compliance with college, system,
state, federal, private, and other legislative regulations and
requirements while performing research and services inherent in
sponsored programs.
Any PI, PD, faculty or staff member who contemplates signing
a research proposal or award on behalf of Mesa State without actual
authority to do so assumes extensive personal legal liability.
PI's, PD's, faculty and staff should remember the following potential
consequences of signing without authority:
1. Because the individual does not have the signatory authority
to bind Mesa State, the college is not bound by that agreement
and is not obligated to provide lab or office space, personnel,
accounting, purchasing, or any other support needed to carry out
the work described in the sponsored program.
2. If a Mesa State employee uses college facilities and personnel
to conduct research or other sponsored activities not otherwise
approved through proper college procedures, the employee may be
subject to discipline for misappropriation of governmental property
and/or resources.
3. Without an authorized signature, the individual who signed
the agreement is personally liable for performance of the agreement
and adherence to all of the laws, rules and regulations relating
to the agreement, including, but not limited to, the Internal
Revenue Code and state tax laws. If signed without authority,
taxes may be imposed on the entire amount of research funding
as personal income to the individual.
4. A PI or other employee who signs a proposal or agreement without
authority to do so may be subject to claims by the sponsor of
the project or the college for fraud or misrepresentation if the
PI or employee led the sponsor to believe that he/she did indeed
have the authority to sign on behalf of Mesa State.
5. The professional reputation of the PI will suffer if a PI is
required to go back to an organization after an unauthorized signature
has been given and explain that the sponsor does not have a legally
binding agreement with Mesa State.
6. Mesa State has a policy in place which governs intellectual
property rights generated from a sponsored program (Mesa State
College Board of Trustees Policy Manual section 5.9). If the PI
or employee seeks to invent something independently, it is crucial
to proceed in accordance with this policy. Signing an agreement
without authority does not insulate the employee's intellectual
property rights from these policies, which presume that any invention
created in a college-related activity, using college time, facilities,
equipment or materials belongs to Mesa State.
Office of Sponsored Programs
Mesa State College
1100 North Avenue
Grand Junction, CO 81501
Phone: (970)-248-1424
Fax: (970)-248-1076
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