AGO 81-029.

• Case Date: March 23, 1981
• Court: North Dakota

North Dakota Attorney General Opinions 1981. AGO 81-029. OPINION 81-29Date Issued: March 23, 1981 (AGO 81-29) Requested by: Senator Gary J. Nelson- QUESTION PRESENTED - Whether receipt of limited compensation from the UND Medical Center by a physician serving as a part-time lecturer, consultant and clinical faculty member makes that physician an employee of an institution pursuant to Article VIII, Section 6(2)(a), of the North Dakota Constitution and section 15-10-02 of the North Dakota Century Code.- ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION - It is my opinion that a physician serving part time as a lecturer, consultant and clinical faculty member for the UND Medical Center and receiving limited compensation therefore is not an employee pursuant to Article VIII, Section 6(2)(a), of the North Dakota Constitution and section 15-10-02, N.D.C.C., and is therefore not precluded from being appointed to the Board of Higher Education. - ANALYSIS - Article VIII, Section 6(2)(a), of the North Dakota Constitution provides in part as follows:

No person employed by any institution under the control of the board shall serve as a member of the board, nor shall any employee of any such institution be eligible for membership on the state board of higher education for a period of two years following the termination of his employment. (Emphasis supplied).

Section 15-10-02, N.D.C.C., in almost identical language states:

No person employed by any institution under the control of the board shall serve as a member of the board, nor shall any employee of any such institution be eligible for membership on the board for a period of two years following the termination of his employment.

The University of North Dakota Medical Center has many private practice physicians serving part time as clinical faculty members throughout the state. These physicians participate at various times as consultants or advisers. They deliver lectures to medical students at a given rate per lecture and conduct conferences with medical students at a given rate per conference. They also oversee senior medical students assigned to them for specific periods of time as part of the student's senior year at the Medical School. This service is in addition to their regular private practice patient load which is the principal source of their income. When services are requested, the physician is...