A faculty Principal Investigator (PI), Department Chair, Dean, or other Midwestern State University employee should never sign a sponsored projects proposal, contract, or grant without first consulting OSPR.
Before an agreement can be enforced, it must be signed by a person with specific statutory authority. For research grants and contracts, this authority has been delegated to the Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs & Research.
Any PI or other university employee who contemplates signing a research proposal or agreement on behalf of the University without actual authority to do so assumes extensive personal legal liability.