University of Calgary Legal Name & Signing Authority
LEGAL NAME
The full legal name of the University of Calgary is ‘The Governors of the University of Calgary’.
The University of Calgary is recognized as a non-profit organization incorporated in the Province of Alberta through provincial legislation. It is registered as a charitable organization.
For more information on the University of Calgary’s legal name and legal entity status, please visit Confirmation of Legal Entity Status.
For a list of common UCalgary identification numbers (i.e. business number, DUNS#, registered charity account number, etc.) please visit here.
SIGNING AUTHORITY
All University of Calgary research agreements are signed by the Vice-President (Research) or an approved delegate pursuant to the University of Calgary’s Delegation of Authority Policy.
The Vice-President (Research) is the chief research officer of the University of Calgary. A full description of the Vice-President (Research)’s portfolios, role, and accountabilities can be found here.
University of Calgary researchers are not permitted to sign their own research agreements on behalf of University of Calgary. Unauthorized signatures may jeopardize the research agreement’s enforceability, create personal legal risks for the signatory, or result in other issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please visit Confirmation of Legal Entity Status
No. Your Department Head and Dean will not have signing authority on behalf of the University of Calgary.
They have the authority to sign various internal forms and acknowledgements, such as Research Agreement Approval Forms, but not legal agreements which contain binding commitments from the University of Calgary.
After your research agreement has been reviewed and finalized, the Research Legal team will directly obtain the University of Calgary’s signature from an authorized signatory. Research Legal can also support you in obtaining signatures from the other contractual party(ies).
Research Legal will assess which specific individual at the University of Calgary is authorized to sign your agreement request. This may include the Vice-President (Research), an Associate Vice-President (Research), or another approved delegate.
Please see our Agreement Review and Execution Process for more information on how agreements are processed.
If the University of Calgary is a contractual party to that research agreement, then it must be signed by the Vice-President (Research) or an approved delegate (see above). Individual researchers cannot sign legal agreements on behalf of the University of Calgary.
If your research partner wants you to sign a research agreement as a private individual (for example, to bind you personally to confidentiality terms), Research Legal highly discourages this practice. In general, all research activities occurring at the University of Calgary or otherwise involving the University of Calgary’s facilities, administration, or resources should be addressed by legal agreements directly between the University of Calgary and any research partners and funders.
The University of Calgary, including University Legal Services, cannot support or advise you on any agreements that you may sign as a private individual. Our legal teams are only able to act for and advise the University of Calgary. If you still wish to enter into an agreement personally, then you are highly encouraged to seek out independent legal advice before taking on any personal legal responsibilities.
Please also consult with your faculty to ensure you abide by any Outside Professional Activity (OPA) policies/guidelines governing research activities taken on as a private individual.