Monsanto’s newest director, David Chicoine, has found himself at the center of a political flap in his home state of South Dakota. Chicoine, the president of South Dakota State University, joined the agribusiness company’s board in April.

The university’s student-run newspaper, the Collegian, soon questioned whether Chicoine’s ties to Monsanto would pose a conflict of interest for the university, which has various research relationships with Monsanto. It quoted students and a local Sierra Club leader who were critical of the appointment, and it asked Chicoine for a response:

Chicoine does not see his new position as problematic. When the company selected him, it found that he had no direct or indirect material relationship with the company, Chicoine said. If he did have a conflict of interest, he would not be able to give the company objective feedback.

“As an independent board member, if I’m not independent, I have no value to the board.”

In terms of research, Chicoine said SDSU will not be given the inside track for Monsanto grants. Instead, the company will continue to look for the best researchers for their projects because it only makes sense for companies to choose the best candidate.

Last month, the debate entered the political sphere. State Sen. Frank Kloucek, a Democrat, published a letter critical of Chicoine. He writes:

This $400,000 pay-off for President Chicoine creates a perceived conflict of interest not only for the university president, but also for the quality of the research results coming from SDSU. How can SDSU’s research results be taken seriously when one of Monsanto’s competitors can point to the university president’s $400,000 corporate link and declare the research skewed?

Kloucek also told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that he’s writing a bill to prohibit university presidents from serving on corporate boards.