University Rules

1. No contract, agreement, promise, bank account, or other undertaking in the name of the university of Cincinnati or purporting to be made for, or on behalf of any college, school, department, division or other part of the university of Cincinnati, shall be made by any of its officers, agents, or employees or by any student, faculty, or alumni organization, enterprise, or association whatever, unless the same shall have been first authorized by the board of trustees of the university or in pursuance of authority conferred by the university rules.
   
   
2. Whenever the board of trustees shall have authorized or ratified the making of any contract or the execution of a written instrument of any kind involving a sum or sums in excess of one million nine hundred ninety-six thousand five hundred dollars, the chairperson or in his/her absence a vice chairperson, and in his/her absence the chairperson of the finance and administration committee, shall, without special authorization by the board, execute and deliver such documents as may be necessary or proper for the performance of the university's obligations thereunder. The signature of a vice chairperson to any such writing shall, when attested and authenticated, as provided in these bylaws, be conclusive as to the absence of the chairperson, and the signature of the chairperson of the finance and administration committee to any such writing shall, when attested and authenticated, as provided in these bylaws, be conclusive as to the absence of the chairperson and a vice chairperson. All instruments executed by the chairperson, vice chairperson or chairperson of the finance and administration committee shall be reported by the secretary at the next regular meeting of the board.
   
   
3. Contracts involving the purchase or sale of operating real estate must be approved by the board of trustees, regardless of amount. Other contracts involving sums of one million nine hundred ninety-six thousand five hundred dollars or less may be executed as follows:
   
   
   1. Unless otherwise delegated to the president, all non-sponsored contracts, purchase orders, and modifications thereof which require the expenditure of funds by the university of amounts greater than one million nine hundred ninety-six thousand five hundred dollars shall require prior approval of the board of trustees, after which they shall be executed by the chairperson, vice chairperson or chairperson of the finance and administration committee as authorized in paragraph (B) of this rule, without further approval.
      
      
   2. Without board of trustees' approval, the president or his/her designee shall have the authority to:
      
      
      1. Approve all budget transfers in undesignated general or auxiliary funds and all additional appropriations of undesignated general, auxiliary or plant funds in amounts of six hundred sixty-five thousand five hundred dollars or less. The authority described in this paragraph may be delegated to the vice president for finance. When delegated, the vice president for finance shall report all such transfers and appropriations approved to the president on a monthly basis.
         
         
      2. Approve all budget transfers in undesignated general or auxiliary funds, and all additional appropriations of undesignated general, auxiliary or plant funds in amounts greater than six hundred sixty-five thousand five hundred dollars but not in excess of one million three hundred thirty-one thousand dollars. The one million three hundred thirty-one thousand dollar limit may be increased to one million nine hundred ninety-six thousand five hundred dollars with the verbal or written consent of the chairperson of the finance and administration committee or in his/her absence the vice chairperson of the finance and administration committee, which consent when given by the vice chairperson of the finance and administration committee shall, when attested, be conclusively presumed to have been given in the absence of the chairperson of the finance and administration committee. Under normal conditions written approval shall be preferred. The president shall report all such approvals to the board for information at its next regular meeting.
         
         
      3. Approve and execute
         
         
         1. Contracts (including term contracts which are the result of ordinary competitive bidding procedure), purchase orders and modifications thereof which require the expenditure of funds by the university of amounts not in excess of one million three hundred thirty-one thousand dollars; provided that the one million three hundred thirty-one thousand dollar limit may be increased to one million nine hundred ninety-six thousand five hundred dollars with the verbal or written consent of the chairperson of the finance and administration committee or in his/her absence the vice chairperson of the finance and administration committee, which consent when given by the vice chairperson of the finance and administration committee and attested as provided in these bylaws shall be conclusively presumed to have been given in the absence of the chairperson of the finance and administration committee. Under normal conditions written approval is preferred.
            
            
         2. Grants, sponsored contracts and other contracts which do not require the expenditure of funds by the university (other than as an incident of performance of the contract), and modifications thereof, in any amount.

            The president shall report all such approved and executed contracts, purchase orders, grants or modifications to the board for information at its next regular meeting or at such intervals as the board of trustees shall direct. Such report may be in summary form showing aggregated information for multiple contracts.
            
            

   3. Contracting and assistant contracting officers.

      The board of trustees shall designate the university's contracting and assistant contracting officers.
      
      

      1. Without board of trustees' approval the contracting officer shall have the authority to execute
         
         
         1. Non-sponsored contracts, purchase orders, and modifications and amendments thereto on behalf of the university which require the expenditure of funds by the university of six hundred sixty-five thousand five hundred dollars or less and sponsored grants, contracts, and modifications thereof in amounts of six hundred sixty-five thousand five hundred dollars or less;
            
            
         2. Leases of real estate, and modifications and amendments thereto, with the approval of the office managing university investment real estate;

         3. Contracts for the sale of investment real estate, and modifications and amendments thereto, together with such deeds, certificates, instruments and other documents as may be necessary or advisable to consummate such transactions and perform the obligations created thereby, with the approval of the administrative investments committee;
            
            
         4. Contracts relating to the licensing, sale, assignment, transfer or other disposition of the university’s intellectual property rights in inventions, discoveries, patents, and copyrights, with the approval of the vice president for research, and in trademarks, with the approval of the director of licensing; and
            
            
         5. Consents, applications, approvals, releases, affidavits, financing statements, certifications, waivers, powers of attorney and other actions of the university as may be necessary in the conduct of the ordinary course of the university’s business, with the approval of the president or the appropriate vice president.
            
            

         The signature of the contracting officer to any of the foregoing documents shall be conclusive evidence of his or her authority to execute the same by and on behalf of the board of trustees.
         

      2. The assistant contracting officers shall have the power to exercise any or all of the authority of the contracting officer upon the proper delegation of that authority by the contracting officer.
         
         
      3. The contracting officer may delegate to other officers of the university the authority to carry out specific functions of the contracting officer, under the continuing supervision of the contracting officer.
         
         
      4. The contracting officer may appoint attorneys or other agents to attend the closing of real estate transactions and to execute closing documents on behalf of the board of trustees, to act on behalf of the university in prosecuting patent, copyright and other applications, to act on behalf of the university in clearing shipments through customs, and to act on behalf of the university in performing other representative functions; and the signature of any such duly appointed attorney or agent shall be conclusive evidence of his or her authority to execute the same on behalf of the board of trustees.
         
         
   4. Without special authorization of the board, the secretary of the board shall have authority to amend this rule every three years, on July first, to reflect a ten per cent increase in the signing authority granted in the foregoing paragraphs of this rule.
      
      
   5. Vice president for finance.

      Without board of trustees' approval, the vice president for finance shall have authority to execute contracts and change orders for construction projects within the limit of funds appropriated by the board for each project. Contracts and change orders executed by the vice president for finance shall be filed immediately with the contracting officer and/or the office of the board of trustees, as appropriate.
      
      

   6. The senior vice president for administration and finance

      The senior vice president for administration and finance shall have the same authority to execute instruments as that granted to the contracting officer by paragraph (C)(3) of this rule.