Ethical lessons abound at universities
Some of our most prominent university leaders have been providing some tough lessons lately.
Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism Dean John Lavine sparked a controversy when he used quotes attributed only to unidentified students in an alumni magazine column. The students praised some of the school's new courses, but Lavine has not been able to provide the students' identity.
This might seem like a ho-hum matter, but it is a hard-and-fast rule in journalism that words in quotes reflect what someone actually said. Indeed, it is -- or was-- a rule of academia and society as a whole that such writing or claim-making be factual and verifiable.
Since Daily Northwestern columnist David Spett said he interviewed all 29 students in one of the classes and could not find anyone who claimed to have said anything that was quoted by Lavine, other journalists also have tried and failed to find the sources of the comments. Still, Provost Daniel Linzer recently said a three-person panel found "no evidence" to suggest any part of the journalism school dean's column were fabricated.
Lavine apologized for being unable to produce proof of the students' identities and said he would turn the controversy into a teaching moment.
Linzer said Lavine had not violated university policy and gave him a vote of confidence.
Meanwhile, Indiana University in Bloomington faces five major violations of National Collegiate Athletic Association rules regarding recruiting because of the alleged activities of former men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. Sampson, who had multiple recruiting violations at his former job in Oklahoma, is accused of repeatedly lying to the NCAA and university investigators about making literally hundreds of impermissible phone calls to recruits.
Sampson denies providing false information, but before any conclusion by the NCAA, he and university officials reached a "separation agreement." University officials agreed to pay Sampson $750,000 in return for his resignation.
His basketball players continue to wear shoes with "KS" written on them and television commentators continue to point out this protest in honor of their former coach.
While some students at Northwestern like Spett clearly have learned that fabricating statements is wrong, it would seem playing by the rules is not in the vernacular in the men's basketball program at IU.
Sadly, these surely won't be the last examples of the muddying of rules and of honesty at our institutions of higher learning, nor were they the first.
Late last year, former Democratic governor candidate and Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard was found to have committed "inadvertent plagiarism" in his 1984 doctoral dissertation. He remains SIU's president.
Teachable moments all. The lesson? Honesty will always be the best policy. And if you are at a spot where your truthfulness might be called to question, simply make the right choice that would leave no one to doubt your sincerity.