[VPAAEtal] Important - Message Regarding Disclosure Pursuant to System Regulation 15.05.04

[Academic Affairs]

The following is sent on behalf of Dr. Brent Donham, Vice President for Research & Economic Development.

Faculty and Staff,

System Regulation 15.05.04, High Risk Global Engagements and High Risk International Collaborations, was established to protect research integrity and security within the A&M System.

Pursuant to System Regulation 15.05.04, the following countries, regions, or regimes are defined as “Countries of Concern.”  This list includes those stipulated in Executive Order GA 48, Relating to the Hardening of State Government, by the Governor of the State of Texas.

  *   China (including Hong Kong and Macau)
  *   Cuba;
  *   Iran;
  *   North Korea;
  *   Russia; and
  *   Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro (Maduro Regime).

Pursuant to System Regulation 15.05.04, Section 3.b, all High Risk Global Engagements or High Risk International Collaborations, must be disclosed, reviewed, and approved prior to executing.
Prior to executing High Risk Global Engagements or establishing High Risk International Collaborations, the member EO [Dr. Brent Donham] must review the proposed activity. If the EO does not approve the activity, the member must send the system RSO a courtesy copy of the review. High Risk Global Engagements or High Risk International Collaborations approved by the member EO or designee must be submitted to the system RSO for review.

All activities subject to System Regulation 15.05.04 must be received by the System Research Security Office (RSO) no later than 10-business days in advance of the subjected activity start date, pursuant to System Regulation 15.05.04, Sections 3.b.1 and 3.b.2. If the RSO receives a request that doesn’t meet this requirement, the request is considered out-of-compliance and a memo will be issued to the System member Empowered Official (EO).

The RSO monitors compliance with System Regulation 15.05.04 across all System members.  When alerts occur, they seek to verify whether the flagged activity has been disclosed, reviewed, and approved.

As a reminder, High Risk Global Engagements or High Risk International Collaborations includes publishing with a country of concern entity.

Recently I received notice that multiple publications were identified as a potential non‑compliance instances because the author/co-authors were entities from a country of concern and RSO didn’t have a record that it was authorized pursuant to System Regulation 15.05.04.  Consequences of this action can result in the Vice Chancellor for Research issuing a memo of non-compliance.

ACTION:  If you are currently collaborating with, or intend to collaborate with an entity from a country of concern, you need to disclose it to me so I can initiate the review pursuant to System Regulation 15.05.04.

The A&M System and ETAMU encourages employees to pursue global engagements with mutually beneficial fundamental scientific inquiry, cultural, or educational opportunities.  Working with the RSO, we will do everything we can to get to a “yes” for international collaborations.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Sincerely,

Brent

Dr. Brent Donham

Vice President for Research & Economic Development


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On February 13, 2025, East Texas A&M University was designated an R2 research institution
by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This prestigious classification
signifies that our university values scholarly research and positions us among a select group of
research institutions within The Texas A&M University System and across the nation.


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