WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Grads, Faculty Reminded of Thesis Policy MATT CAN H AM Chronicle News Writer Recent policy violations involving faculty supervision of graduate students has prompted administrative action. Vice President of Research Richard Koehn and Dean of the Graduate School David Chapman distributed a joint memorandum to academic deans, dated Jan. n. "In ail cases there was no malevolence involved, only ignorance of policy," Koehn said. Koehn and Chapman are aware of three violations. Tvo concerning a policy on the publication of graduate theses and one involving the working relationship between a faculty adviser and a graduate student. No disciplinary action will be taken involving the three known violations. Both Koehn and Chapman refused to disclose the names of any individuals involved or which department they wrork in. It is U policy that the publication of graduate theses can be postponed for three months to delay is patent any new discoveries. A one-yeif the Graduate Council. possible approved by ar Chapman said a thesis editor brought the violations to his attention. TOBACCO continued from page 1 Research for smoking-relate- d health problems cancer, heart disease, emphysema, stroke and addiction will use any money allocated to the health sciences. Pculton bill is on today's agenda for the Human Services Committee, where agencies, organizations and groups that are not part of the current legislation can present their cases. Poulton and his staff will The faculty adviser and the student involved were slew in applying for a patent, he said. He worried that a further delay would be the "tip of the iceberg," at a university where there is a growing pressure to commercialize new discoveries. The policy was designed to work in the student's favor, since the publication of a thesis can lead to recognition and job offers. The policy is also designed to further knowledge. "When one does research, one is obligated to make your findings known to the broader community. At that time, knowledge accumulates and science progresses," he said. Chapman is aware of two violations of the publication policy and said there is a possibility cf a third. The other violation falls under the Conflict of Interest Policy. There is a possible conflict of interests when a faculty member has a financial interest in a company which has hired a graduate student. This is disallowed by policy unless there is "some overriding academic need," according to Koehn. "It is advisable that the involvement of graduate students in the corporate interests of faculty should be avoided," states the However, none of the policy violations occurred in the College of Engineering, he said. Anil Virkar owns Material and System Research Inc., a high-tecresearch firm. Virkar is also the chair of the department of material science and engineering. He said he was not previously aware of the policies, but they are obvious. "It is very clear to me if a student is working on a company project that they would have to safeguard against a conflict of interest," he said. His company docs not hire graduate students, but does employ some who have already received their master's degrees. "These are general healthy reminders about how we need to deal with our relationship with graduate students," Chapman said. h answer any specific questions concerning the bill in its current form. If the committee approves the bill, it would then go to the Senate that would use 25 percent of the settlement allocated during the 2000-0- 1 fiscal year, up to $8 million, for tobacco prevention and reduc- floor. tion. Poulton is not the only legislator who is sponsoring tobacco settlement legislation. Sen. Edgar Allen, is a bill a to sponsoring place portion of the funds into a Tobacco Prevention and Treatment Endowment. In the Utah State House of Representatives, Rep. Karen Morgan, Lake, is sponsoring a bill During the Human Services Committee meeting, most of the discussion centered around the possibility of placing part of the money into a trust fund, Greg Fredde, vice president of the Utah Taxpayer Association, spoke in favor of Poulton's bill He fielded questions from senators about placing the remainder of the D-S- ASUU continued from page This is a policy that Gerald Stringfellow, dean of the College of Eng:neering, is well aware of. "We have a lot of cases where faculty members have part of a company and students get a fellowship with that company," he said. "We encourage this sort of thing, with the understanding that it is for the benefit of the students." Stringfellow said limitations are in pbee, such as prohibiting students from working on a project unless the findings will be made public. -- 2000 1 student group he can see as capable of getting the project going is the Student Alumni Association. Var3nakis said U would be difficult to make the project . long-ter- m students if the group and in charge change every year. "One year you might have an exceptional group of students; continuity is an issue," she said. Nonetheless, Varanakis said she wants "to pursue all different student organizations. "Let's get it nut there if we're not going to do it, let's find someone who will," she said. "The least we can do...is throw it out there and see if we can get a buyer; it's going to need a focus, a base.'' Annie Nebeker, assistant to the dean of students, suggested starting the ye?rbook small and then expanding it would the project better give chances for success. funds into the state school fund. "If we get less money this year, we put less in the fund. It is a safety valve," he said. Hillyard was concerned that a Iliggins said she hopes the project will be successful in the future, but she is not sure when or how that will hap- percentage of the money has not Whoever takes it on will a good shot at success because he or she will have these experiences to learn been earmarked to the fund. Whether it is the school fund or another Wirthlia endowment, believes part of the money will be stashed away. "I have heard from the beginning that legislators want to set aside some of the money in art endowment," she said. pen. have from, Nebeker said. CHRONICLE SEEKS WRITERS APPLY 240 UNION Performing JanarM 19 noon liniDI! DEL! KIDDKRZIMQ "J" BfiBV EDDY GfiGE UIRGfiD . IllODIKY r b.m. IS BY GflGC SOLO S.i.S. JflDE Why do more students choose Kaplan MCAT than all other prep courses combined? Is it our expert teachers?. ..Convenient class schedules?. .. 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