Sec. 3.01. The Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (revised November 1993)
The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall, except as otherwise specifically provided, have general supervision of and responsibility for the finances, property, and business of the university. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall advise the president on the business and financial activities of the university.
The powers and duties of the executive vice president and chief financial officer shall be as follows:
Supervision of Finances. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall have general supervision of and be responsible for the collection and custody of and accounting for all money belonging to the university, and it shall be the executive vice president and chief financial officer’s duty to demand and receive all such money when due from the state treasurer or any other person or persons.
The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall have general supervision of and responsibility for proper management of all operating funds containing working capital for the conduct of the university, of all gift funds made to the trusts created for the benefit of the university or any of its units, and of all investments of university funds.
The executive vice president and chief financial officer may institute such legal proceedings as may be necessary for the proper conservation of the assets of the university; and select appropriate legal counsel. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall pay all demands upon the university after such payment has been duly authorized by the board, or other proper authority or authorities.
Accounting. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall keep or cause to be kept full and accurate books of account covering all transactions of the executive vice president’s office. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall cause periodic audits of all university units to be made for the information of the board and shall file these audits at intervals during the fiscal year.
Properties. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall have general supervision of and be responsible for the physical properties of the university. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall cause to be prepared and shall keep in convenient form an inventory of all property, both real and personal, committed to the executive vice president’s charge. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall have custody of all deeds and other documents relating to the property of the university.
The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall have authority to formulate and publish rules for the safe-keeping, care, and use of the buildings, grounds, and equipment.
The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall approve the conditions of sales of any outworn or outmoded equipment or supplies. All property lost or abandoned on the campus or in the buildings of the university and unclaimed by owners or finders shall be turned over to the executive vice president and chief financial officer for disposal.
Reports-Financial, Business, and Property. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall:
Prepare and deliver periodically to the board a brief statement showing under general heads the receipts and disbursements during the preceding period or since the last report was made;
Report not less than quarterly concerning the investment and reinvestment of university funds;
Prepare for the board an annual financial report showing in required detail the receipts and disbursements of university funds for the fiscal year, and such other matters as experience or common practice of educational institutions requires; and
Make such special reports and furnish such information as may be requested from time to time by the board concerning university finances, investments, student loan funds, business, or property.
Purchases. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall have general supervision of and be responsible for all purchases for the university.
Nonacademic Personnel Administration. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall have responsibility for the administration of personnel and employee relations, policies, and procedures related to nonacademic and nonadministrative personnel, defined to include such categories as technicians, clinicians, chemists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, dietitians, therapists, engineers, skilled and unskilled workers, clerical and fiscal personnel, and such other nonacademic classifications as may be included from time to time by agreement of the proper administrative authorities.
Department Heads. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall appoint, with the approval of the president, such department heads as are warranted and deemed desirable within the business organization to carry out the executive vice president and chief financial officer’s duties.
Travel. The executive vice president and chief financial officer shall prepare the necessary rules and regulations with regard to modes of travel, expenses to be reimbursed, and other details. Within appropriations made for the purpose in the budgets of the several units, reimbursement may be allowed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with travel on behalf of the university.
Sec. 3.02. Salaries of Employees
The compensation of all officers and employees of the university shall be fixed by the board, except that the board may, in adopting the budgets, appropriate sums of money to be expended for salaries or wages under the authority of proper university officials. No salary paid by the university shall carry with it any exemption from any university fee.
Sec 3.03. University Funds (revised November 1993)
University funds shall be deposited in such banks as shall from time to time be approved by the board, which may at any time delegate such authority to the executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Sec. 3.04. Bonds of University Officers
University officers and employees shall be covered by a bond or bonds to indemnify the university against loss in such amount as shall from time to time be required by action of the board.
Sec. 3.05. Gifts to the University (revised March 1995)
The executive vice president and chief financial officer or the executive vice president’s written designee shall have authority to accept all gifts to the university in the form of money and securities or in any other form, whether for the benefit of the entire institution or any of its subdivisions. All gifts must be reported to the president and the board in a manner recommended by the executive vice president and chief financial officer and approved by the president and the board.
No gift for building purposes nor any gift whose maintenance will add to the ordinary operating budget of the university shall be accepted without express permission of the board.
Each gift is accepted subject to the general policy of the board that the wishes of the donors with respect to their gifts shall be loyally observed, so long as in the opinion of the board such wishes do not conflict with the proper administration of the university under changes that may develop in the course of time.
Sec. 3.06. Solicitation of Funds
No solicitation of funds, grants, contracts, or property shall be made by anyone for the benefit of the university, or any agency thereof, without the prior approval of the president or the president’s delegated representative.
The taking of collections or solicitations of pledges at public meetings in university auditoriums and lecture rooms is prohibited.
The campus mail service, telephone system, and other university services, including mailing lists, shall not be used for the solicitation of funds or for any other purposes without the prior approval of the president or the president’s delegated representative.
Sec. 3.07. Approval and Execution of University Documents (revised November 2015)
All transactions involving the purchase, sale, or other disposition of real property shall be first approved and authorized by the board. Unless otherwise specifically provided by the board, all land contracts and deeds conveying university property shall be executed by the president and the executive vice president and chief financial officer.
All sales of donated or bequeathed real estate located outside the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, or Flint campus areas regardless of the sales price; real estate that funds a Unitrust for any amount or location; and bequeathed or devised real property requiring action by an estate executor, personal representative or a trustee may be approved and authorized by the executive vice president and chief financial officer. The resulting land contracts and deeds shall be executed by both the president and the executive vice president and chief financial officer. These transactions will be reported to the Regents in an Item of Information.
Any sale authorized by the executive vice president and chief financial officer must equal or exceed the appraised value except for fractional interest estate properties. For those properties held in an estate in which the university’s interest is fractional, the university will cooperate with the estate’s legally appointed representative regarding terms and appraisal requirements to accomplish a sale.
Transactions involving personal property shall be approved and executed as follows:
The investment or reinvestment of gift, trust, agency, and deposit funds, the purchase and sale of personal property acquired in connection with the investment or reinvestment of such funds, and the approval of real estate mortgages may be made by any two of the following officers: the president, the executive vice president and chief financial officer, the associate vice president for finance, the controller, and the treasurer and investment officer. Any two of the said officers are hereby authorized and empowered to execute and deliver the documents necessary to complete the sale of any stocks, bonds, evidences of indebtedness or other securities, including rights and options to acquire or sell the same owned or held by the Regents of the University of Michigan. The transfer of any such securities by the officers herein authorized shall be sufficient to convey ownership to the transferee.
All agreements for sponsored projects and supplements, including agreements for fellowships, scholarships, and grants-in-aid, and all agreements covering payment for tuition and supplies may be executed by the executive vice president and chief financial officer. The executive vice president’s signature will be certified by the vice president and secretary when such certification is requested. When the commitments fall within the normal activities of the university, the executive vice president and chief financial officer is authorized to delegate in writing to designated representatives authority to execute such agreements.
All discharges of mortgages and cancellations of land contracts may be executed by any two of the following officers: the president, the executive vice president and chief financial officer, the vice president and secretary, the associate vice president for finance, the controller, and the treasurer and investment officer.
All routine contracts for the purchase, sale or loan of supplies or equipment within authorized budgets may be executed by the executive vice president and chief financial officer, provided, however, that the executive vice president and chief financial officer is authorized to delegate in writing to the vice president and secretary, the associate vice president for finance, the associate vice president for business operations, [or] the purchasing agent, or other designated representatives authority to execute such contracts.
In case the president is absent or for any reason is unable to execute documents requiring the president’s signature, then they shall be executed on the president’s behalf by the executive vice president and chief financial officer. In the event the executive vice president and chief financial officer acts on behalf of the president or in the event of the absence or inability to act of the executive vice president and chief financial officer, then the associate vice president for finance, the controller, or the vice president and secretary may execute such documents.
All other documents involving real or personal property transactions and vendor service contracts shall be executed by the executive vice president and chief financial officer; provided, however, that the executive vice president and chief financial officer may delegate in writing to the vice president and secretary, the associate vice president for finance, or other designated representatives authority to execute such documents.
Sec. 3.08. Expenditures from Gift or Trust Funds (revised November 1993)
Expenditures from gifts or trust funds or from the income thereof shall be made in accordance with budgets approved by the board and such expenditures shall be made in accordance with regular university policies and procedures; provided, however, that the president and the executive vice president and chief financial officer shall be deemed to have fulfilled their responsibilities in regard to such expenditures if they perform their duties in accord with the requirements requested by such donors and approved by the board. In all cases where no instructions have been provided by the donors or in the will or trust agreement the board shall approve the expenditures of the proceeds of any grant or trust funds and the income therefrom.
Sec. 3.09. Pledges of University Securities
No pledge shall be made of or encumbrance placed upon any of the securities or other investments of the university, other than a pledge of securities in the General Fund upon the approval by the board.
Sec. 3.10. Ownership of Patents and Copyrights (revised February 16, 2023)
Unless otherwise provided by action of the Regents:
University employees hereby assign patents issued or acquired as the result of or in connection with administration, research, or other educational activities conducted by them and supported directly or indirectly (e.g., through the use of university resources or facilities) by funds administered by the university, regardless of the source of such funds, and all royalties or other revenues derived therefrom, to the university.
Patents resulting from activities which have received no support, direct or indirect, from the university shall be property of the inventor thereof.
Out of respect to principles of academic freedom and in support of its faculty, the University of Michigan transfers its copyright in faculty scholarly works to the faculty who created those works, consistent with Standard Practice Guide 601.28.
If you have questions or suggestions regarding the bylaws section of our website, please email them to Erin Katz.