All guidelines for Duke departmental property officers are based on this fundamental concept: assets are owned by Duke and the government for use by particular departments of the University and its hospitals. It is the responsibility of every department to account for the assets it uses. This responsibility includes total accountability for disposal, changes, and transfers of assets, and a commitment to secure top value for all items sold or traded-in.

        When an individual who has been working on a grant at Duke University moves to another institution, a question sometimes arises about the ownership of the equipment that has been purchased on the grant. In most cases, the equipment is the property of Duke or the government. However, when the principal investigator’s grant-funded research activity is transferred to another institution, and the principal investigator or the granting agency submits a request for certain equipment to be transferred, it has generally been the practice to release^* the equipment. Such requests should be submitted first to the principal investigator’s department chair and then, with the chair’s approval, to the Provost.

         For further information on equipment removal and equipment transfers, please refer to Guidelines for Duke Property Officers in the Removal of Assets, available from Duke University Plant Accounting.