Information currently being updated. Will be added as soon as completed.

Only those employees authorized by the Board of Trustees have the authority to sign contracts/agreements on behalf of the University. Contracts/agreements (non-gratn) must be forwarded to the University Office of Risk Management for review and signature authorization. See University policy FN11 and FNG02.

NOTE: Contracts/agreements related to activities organized and controlled by extension volunteers should be forwarded to P.W. Wood & Son, Inc. for review.

Practical Definition of "Contract"--Any written agreement binding the signatories. Warning! Most "Applications" are actually contracts.

Preliminary Cooperative Extension Employee Responsibilities--Verify with the other involved party as to whether or not any written agreement is required. If so, inform them a that a 30-day lead time is required because all University contracts must be sent to University Park for review and signature.

What do you do when you get a contract involving the University?

1)	First read it thoroughly.
2)	Fill in all the information requested. Remember: When the contract arrives in Risk Management, the only uncompleted item should be the signature line(s).
3)	If the contract states that a certificate of insurance or any other proof of insurance is needed, does the contract show their mailing address? Nothing can be done without it so, if it is missing, the address needs to be included with your accompanying transmission note or letter.
4)	If the contract refers to Rules & Regulations, Policies, Terms and Conditions, etc. is there a copy of them attached to the contract? If so, review thoroughly. If not, you will need to obtain a copy and then review thoroughly. Do not send the contract to Risk Management without first attaching the Rules & Regulations, etc.
5)	Any contract is between legal entities, usually two but sometimes more. Therefore, the first concern is to make sure these entities are identified correctly with the proper names listed. Make sure any contract sent to Risk Management shows "The Pennsylvania State University--Cooperative Extension" as the party entering into it. Anything else (for example, XYZ County, 4-H, District Dairy Show, Horse Committee, ABC Cooperative Extension Advisory Board, XYZ Cooperative Extension or the name of a club) tells Risk Management the contract does not involve the University and it will be returned to you with a note so indicating.
6)	Faxed copies of contracts are not acceptable.
7)	IF the other party has already signed the contract, only contracts with original signatures are acceptable.
The question always arises as to "when is a contract for Cooperative Extension activities PSU contract?" The best answer we can give is a contract becomes a PSU contract if a PSU employee is in charge of the event or activity generating the contract and is doing so as part of her/his assigned duties. We interpret being "in charge" to mean:
I)	The PSU employee determines when the event is going to start, end, and how it is presented; and
II)	The PSU employee is physically present at the event and has the power to stop the event at any time.

Another commonly asked question concerns contracts involving committees of Penn State employees and other agricultural organizations such as FFA, the local Grange, Young Farmers, businesses, etc. and whether or not these are handled as University contracts. The answer is the University is normally just one of the legal entities entering into the contract. Therefore, the supplier/originator of the contract should be told in advance that the contract needs to be made multi-party with all the legal entities represented by the Committee listed and shown as entering into the contract, including a separate signature line on the contract for each entity. The main exception to what was just described is if the Committee itself exists as a legal entity with Bylaws and/or a Constitution or Articles of Incorporation, and either (a) provides its own insurances for itself and its officers and members, or (b) has language in its bylaws, etc. that each entity of the Committee is responsible for the acts or negligence of that entity's employees and members,such bylaw originally being agreed to in writing which was signed by an authorized signer for each legal entity making up the committee. If this exception does exist, the University is not involved or identified in the contract and the proper designated Committee member signs on behalf of the Committee.

Risk Management Office
523 Rider Building
12 S. Burrowes Street
University Park, PA 16801-3857
(814) 865-6307

June 17, 1997