Faculty and staff may engage with elected officials or participate in the political process as private citizens. There may also be times when UMKC faculty and staff engage with elected officials or engage in political processes as part of their roles at the university. There are protocols in place for both, and guidance for engagement can be found in the Elected Official and Candidate Protocol Handbook (PDF). This handbook is a resource for protocols related to various types of events, speaker requests and campus visits for elected government officials and campaign candidates. If there is no guidance provided on a particular question or issue, please contact our office.
The Candidate Protocol Handbook covers several topics.
- Requesting an appearance of an elected official to speak on campus
- Inviting an elected official to a campus event as an attendee (no speaking role)
- Responding to a request from an elected official to visit campus
- Responding to a request from an elected official to use space on campus
- Hosting a legislative event on campus (e.g. rally, town hall, issue forum)
- Endorsing candidates for office or ballot issues
- Initiating or participating in writing campaigns
- Participating in a political campaign for an elected official/candidate
- Attending a fundraising event for an elected official/candidate
- Conducting a voter registration activity on campus
- Running for political office while employed at the university
It is crucial members of the university community abide by these protocols because not doing so could put the university at legal risk. These protocols are in place to not only safeguard the university but also students, faculty and staff.
- Any engagement with an elected official or political process outside of official university business must be done outside of your work time and on your own personal devices. Use of university letterhead, email, phone, social media accounts or any other university resources is strictly prohibited. Policies related to employee engagement in political activity can be found here: UM System Collected Rules and Regulations 330.05 Political Activities
- The Free Speech Zone, established by Senate Bill 93, the Campus Free Expression Act, protects outdoor areas of public post-secondary educational institutions as traditional public forums open to free speech and for other purposes.
- Missouri Ethics Law, Amendment 1 “Clean Missouri” creates a $0 limit on gifts that state legislators and their employees can accept from paid lobbyists or the lobbyists’ clients.
