Getting Started

Working with Development

Penn State is a complex organization with many units seeking external funding. As soon as you think you have identified a foundation that might be interested in your project, please contact Spencer S. Lewis, Outreach director of development, to make sure that your project will not interrupt a request in process.

Proposal and Contract Language Requirements
  • All proposals, grants, and contracts must meet all local, commonwealth, and federal laws and regulations.
  • All proposals must conform to the checklist on page 2 of the Proposal Internal Approval Form (PIAF) or the Award Internal Approval Form (AIAF).
  • Principal Investigators must certify and note any or all conflicts of interest as listed in the Proposal Internal Approval Form (PIAF) or the Award Internal Approval Form (AIAF).

Standard Penn State Contract Language

Who we are: The Pennsylvania State University, a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation and an instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with a principal place of business located at 208 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802 ("Penn State")

  1. Governing Law and Jurisdiction: This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and each party submits to the jurisdiction of the Courts of the Common Pleas of Centre County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or the federal court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania for any disputes arising hereunder.

  2. Indemnity: Each party assumes all risks of personal injury and property damage caused by the negligent acts or omissions of that party.

  3. Indemnification: Each party ("Indemnifying Party") shall indemnify the other parties against any loss or damage (including reasonable attorney's fees and other costs of litigation) caused by the Indemnifying Party's negligent acts or omissions or the negligent acts or omissions of its agents or employees. The University shall in no way be liable for the acts or omissions of any students enrolled or participating in the Program.

  4. Limitation of Liability: University's total liability to Sponsor hereunder, if any, shall in no event exceed the total of the amounts paid to University hereunder by Sponsor.

  5. Force Majeure: Neither party is liable for failure or delay in fulfilling its obligations due to any cause beyond its control, provided that the party prevented from performing gives the other party written notice of the commencement of such cause promptly.

  6. Confidentiality of Student Records: University and Sponsor hereby acknowledge that all student records arising as a result of participation in the Program are confidential and that such confidentiality shall be maintained by University and Sponsor. Sponsor further acknowledges that all information received by Sponsor, including, but not limited to, Participant progress in the Program and examination results, if any, are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student records, and disclosure of such information may be made only upon satisfaction of the terms and conditions for disclosure as contained within such legislation.

  7. Publicity: Neither party will use the name of the other in any publicity, advertising, or news release without the prior written approval of an authorized representative of the other party.

  8. Termination: Either party may terminate this Agreement upon 60 days prior written notice to the other. All actual incurred costs and non-cancellable commitments reasonably obligated by University at the time of said termination shall be reimbursed by Sponsor. At the request of the University, all unused University-provided materials previously produced or developed by University shall either be destroyed by Sponsor or returned to University.

  9. Copyright: Copyright and intellectual property rights previously developed by the University prior to this Agreement and during the course of this program shall vest in the University. Sponsor shall be provided with copies of such materials for the purpose of performing the training under this Agreement, for non-commercial use.

  10. General Provisions:
    Non-assignability--The rights and obligations of the parties under this Agreement shall not be assignable without written permission of the other party.

    Severability--    If any provision hereof is held unenforceable or void, the remaining provisions shall be enforced in accordance with their terms. 

    Entire Agreement--This Agreement contains the entire and only agreement between the parties respecting the subject matter hereof and supersedes or cancels all previous negotiations, agreements, commitments and writings between the parties on the subject of this Agreement. Should processing of this Agreement require issuance of a purchase order or other contractual document, all terms and conditions of said document are hereby deleted in entirety. This Agreement may not be amended in any manner except by an instrument in writing signed by the duly authorized representatives of each of the parties hereto.

  11. Right to Use Material: The University represents and warrants that it has the right and authority to use and grant the use of all the course materials to be provided to the students for _________________ program pursuant to this Agreement. The University shall indemnify and hold harmless the Training Partners, individually and severally, for all losses, damages, or expenses which any of the Training Partners may incur, suffer or become liable for as a result of or in connection with any claim asserted against them based on a contention that the course materials infringe any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; provided that the use of the course materials by the Training Partners' students is within the scope of the delivery of the Master of Project Management degree. The University may, in its sole discretion, alter any course materials in such a way as to render them non-infringing.

Red Flags to a Successful Contract

Typical preferred language is listed in the following section.

  • The sponsor insists in litigating any or all problems out of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  • The sponsor refuses to share in the burden of liability or indemnification.
  • The sponsor refuses to maintain student confidentiality.
  • The sponsor insists in maintaining all of the rights or sharing in the responsibilities listed below.
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Page last modified on Friday, May 04, 2007