Project Administration
Personal Liability of Principal Investigators
Principal investigators are not authorized to obligate the Research Foundation or the university contractually and should not sign any contracts or agreements. Contracts and award documents are in the name of the Research Foundation and must be signed by an authorized Research Foundation signatory.
This restriction also applies to subcontracts to other institutions. Principal investigators risk incurring personal liability if they authorize a subcontractor to begin work and guarantee payment in the absence of an executed subcontract and purchase order. Additionally, the subcontractor is not authorized to perform any work prior to the issuance of a valid purchase order by the Research Foundation.