“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing.” (attr. T. Roosevelt)

The University of Alabama (UA) is committed to conducting all of its affairs in ways that promote mutual trust and public confidence.  The unethical behavior of just one employee can detract from the excellent contributions of thousands. For this reason, all members of the UA community are expected to sustain the highest ethical standards of excellence, integrity, honesty, and fairness, and for integrating these values into teaching, research, patient care, business practices, and other services of the university.

The UA Code of Ethical Conduct is intended to assist employees and their departments in creating a responsible and ethical workplace. It outlines the basic expectations for employees, directs them to policy requirements and training resources and provides instructions for reporting concerns and violations.  UA welcomes opportunities to discuss ethical issues and concerns.  Information about instances in which ethical standards may not have been upheld is valued so that the institution can do the right thing by correcting deficient past practices and improving processes moving forward.  individuals do the institution a service by reporting good faith concerns and are protected from retaliation for doing so.

If you have questions or would like assistance reporting a concern, please feel free to contact Compliance, Ethics, and Regulatory Affairs at 205-348-2334, cera@ua.edu.

In addition, the University of Alabama System has made available Ethics Support to all its campuses.  Ethics Support is part of the Board’s continuing efforts to strengthen and support ethical, compliant, and risk-aware practices among UA System institutions.  Ethics Support is a resource for employees to seek guidance, without fear of retaliation, regarding potential actions or situations that could be considered unethical or a violation of conflicts of interest or other governing standards.