Ethics Awareness Week to raise visibility of need for integrity in scholarship, research

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be celebrating Ethics Awareness Week Oct. 8-12. The weeklong event will draw speakers from academia, professional organizations and government to campus to discuss ongoing issues in areas ranging from student academic integrity to care for animal subjects.

“Many of the ethical challenges of our work are complex,” said C.K. Gunsalus, director of Illinois’ National Center for Professional & Research Ethics and co-organizer of the event. “Talking about them with each other and our students can be clarifying—and fascinating. These are personal obligations, just as they are part of our responsibilities as members of our professions and our society.”

While media reports of ethical misconduct are all-too commonplace, several recent incidents have brought the need for academic integrity in particular to light. At Harvard University, administrators are investigating nearly 125 students – many of them members of the Crimson men’s basketball team – in an introductory government class who have been accused of cheating on a take-home exam. In Japan, a highly regarded anesthesiologist shocked the academic world when it was revealed that he may have fabricated research for more than 20 years, leading to the possible retraction of nearly 200 scientific articles.

“The Ethics Awareness Week will highlight the importance of issues surrounding the responsible conduct of research, contributing to the campus dialog on this topic that involves all students, staff, and faculty who participate in the research enterprise,” said Vice Chancellor for Research Peter Schiffer.

Speakers at Ethics Awareness Week will delve into some of these hot-topic issues at events around campus.

Highlights include:

• A lecture by Mark Frankel of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who will talk about the social responsibility of scientists – Oct. 8 at the College of Business’ Deloitte Auditorium;
• An appearance by Prof. Keith Baggerly of the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center, who recently appeared on “60 Minutes” for his role in uncovering a study that fraudulently promised genetically targeted chemotherapy – Oct. 9 at the Institute for Genomic Biology;
• A staged reading of “Oleanna,” a play in which the complex dynamic of harassment is played out between a professor and student – Oct. 10 at the Lincoln Hall Theater;
• And an “Ask an Expert” student panel, where students can tap their peers and other experts for advice – Oct. 11 at the Illini Union.
• A full schedule is available at ethics.grainger.illinois.edu.

“It is important for our students and postdocs during the formative stages of their professional development to understand the causes and consequences of unethical practices and research misconduct,” said Deba Dutta, dean of the Graduate College.
“The events of the Ethics Awareness Week will provide an excellent framework for considering the complex issues and moving forward.”

Ethics Awareness Week is an initiative of the National Center for Professional & Research Ethics and is sponsored by the Graduate College and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, with support from the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society. NCPRE is home to the National Science Foundation-sponsored Ethics CORE online resource (nationalethicscenter.com), a $1.5 million initiative to put ethics resources at the fingertips of researchers, instructors, administrators and professionals. NCPRE is part of the Coordinated Science Laboratory in Illinois’ highly ranked College of Engineering.