Data Wars
Two faculty members in a department have worked together for the past couple of years with Faculty A the PI and Faculty B the collaborator. While A is the PI, he is a relatively junior faculty member and this is the first sponsored project on which he has been the PI. B is a senior faculty member, a past chair and has tremendous influence within the department. They have a falling out and B refuses to collaborate any longer. Faculty B recalls he gave the department secretary Jean Jones copies of charts and other data that were to be included in Faculty A’s final progress report. He goes to her and asks for the file. Jones says she will get it and leave it on her desk later that day. Faculty B says no, when you find it, just shred the contents of the file. She objects saying A told her it was to be included in A’s progress report. B says, "Jean this is none of your business. Just do what I tell you to do – just destroy the contents of the file and you won’t have any trouble. I will deal with A personally."
Questions to Consider
- Jean Jones is clearly in a difficult position. What are her options?
- What are the ethical implications of each of those options?
- Who might Jean Jones contact to gain support for whatever options she chooses?
- Assuming Jean Jones decides to destroy the records, what are the risks associated with that decision?
