Endorsement of Commercial Services or Products by UF Employees

Steve Orlando, Interim Vice President for Strategic Communications and Marketing

The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing has developed a policy regarding employee participation in commercial endorsement of commercial services or products. This policy provides uniform guidance for a matter that almost every college and unit across campus has faced at one time or another.

In a nutshell, except with prior written approval by the Assistant Vice President for Marketing, an Employee shall not participate in any commercial Testimonial, Endorsement, Promotion or similar activity in any form of media—including, but not limited to print, radio, TV, and social media—in a manner that either directly or indirectly: (1) indicates or suggests such employee is doing so on behalf of UF; or (2) uses UF Assets.

To be clear, this policy does not prohibit or limit Employees’ rights to free speech as citizens, nor does this policy prohibit or limit faculty members’ academic freedom.

The full policy can be found here. Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me directly at sfo@ufl.edu.