"In citing an example of what a university executive shouldn't do, Crofts pointed to another state where a president served on the board of a business that had the university do research for the company. That was a conflict that compromised the integrity of the research, Crofts said."
"The Ethics Commission filings for Limbert, Lee, Alcorn State University President Clinton Bristow and Jackson State University President Ronald Mason show they had no corporate board positions. . . .
The commission is charged with ensuring government officials don't have conflicts of interest when serving in both the public and private sectors. . . .
According to the commission, University of Southern Mississippi President Shelby Thames, Mississippi Valley State University President Lester Newman and Delta State University John Hilpert have not filed reports.
The official biographies for Thames and Hilpert do not show them serving on corporate boards. Lee, Thames, Mason and Khayat are listed as directors of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, the public-private research and development agency that gets government and private funds. . . .
State law and policies say a university president can't serve on a board of a company with which the university does business.
In citing an example of what a university executive shouldn't do, Crofts pointed to another state where a president served on the board of a business that had the university do research for the company. That was a conflict that compromised the integrity of the research, Crofts said."