Classified Research

In the interest of national security, federally funded research can be classified in terms of access to data, information, and facilities (inputs) that may be required to carry out the research or in terms of the results of the research (outputs).

The Regents' Policy concerning research grants, contracts, and agreements, approved by the Board of Regents on April 17, 1987, states:

The mission of the University is to generate and disseminate knowledge in the public interest. Essential to this mission are two fundamental principles: open scholarly exchange and academic freedom.

To ensure that these two fundamental principles will be maintained, the Regents' Policy explicitly states that:

The University will not enter into or renew any grant, contract, or agreement that would restrain its freedom to disclose the existence of the document, the identity of any sponsor of the proposed research, or the purpose and scope of the proposed research.

The University normally does not accept grants, contracts, or agreements for research which unreasonably restrict its faculty, staff, or students from publishing or otherwise disseminating the results of the research.

However, the policy does allow the University to accept, with the approval of the Vice President for Research, a classified contract if it can be accommodated without compromising the University's pursuit of its educational mission and if its purpose is clearly in the public interest.

Contact ORSP Senior Project Representative Sharyn Sivyer for further information regarding security clearances, classified document control, foreign visitor information, security inspections, and so forth.

Last reviewed: January 20, 2011
name update February, 2012

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