>There is a move underway here at SIU to have faculty facility users >sign
some statement that they accept financial responsibility for >damages that
their subordinates might cause.
>
>If any of you have such a procedure, or if you have an enforceable >policy
for charging for damages, I need to hear from you.
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: A few mailed me forms and supplementary material. The
forms said, basically, "I agree to pay for damages caused by the above
person." Usually the language specified "because of carelessness or
negligence" and one bore language making it clear that it was university
research account money being talked about here, not the PI's *personal*
checkbook!
Others said they have no form or formal policy, but rather an understanding
that is honored in almost all cases. One respondent objected to shaking down
professors for repair money.
I meet with THE DEANS tomorrow to decide the matter and I predict that, if
we implement a form, it will (1) have language containing the above
clarifications, and (2) set an upper limit on the liability of a few
thousand dollars. One dean has remarked, quite correctly I think, that
open-ended responsibility for a $600,000 instrument is meaningless.
Thanks again. These considerations may become important at your
institutions, too, if you undergo the financial declines we have. You may
wish to check on whether your friends in high places still have their
emergency funds in good shape.
Bill
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William C. Stevens, Ph.D. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility
Director Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901-4405
wstevens@siu.edu
wstevens@mols.siu.edu http://www.siu.edu/worda/bill.html
wstevens@intrnet.net
ge1252@siucvmb.siu.edu voice: 618-453-6498 fax: -6408
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