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American Mathematical Society

Conflict of Interest Policy for AMS Officers and Committee Members
(as adopted by the January 2007 AMS Council)


A conflict of interest may exist when the personal interest (financial or other) or concerns of any committee member, or the member's immediate family, or any group or organization to which the member has an allegiance or duty, may be seen as competing or conflicting with the interests or concerns of the AMS.

When any such potential conflict of interest is relevant to a matter requiring participation by the member in any action by the AMS or the committee to which the member belongs, the interested party shall call it to the attention of the chair of the committee and such person shall not vote on the matter. Moreover, the person having a conflict shall retire from the room in which the committee is meeting (or from email or conference call) and shall not participate in the deliberation or decision regarding the matter under consideration.

The foregoing requirements shall not be construed as preventing the member from briefly stating his/her position in the matter, nor from answering pertinent questions of other members.

When there is a doubt as to whether a conflict of interest exists, and/or whether a member should refrain from voting, the matter shall be resolved by a vote of the committee, excluding the person concerning whose situation the doubt has arisen.

Minutes of the meeting of the committee shall reflect when the conflict of interest was disclosed and when the interested person did not vote.