Inside Higher Ed: Ward Churchill Redux?
The professor writes something that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. That prompts administrators to look closely at his research methods, and they find errors that lead them to discipline him. No, not that case, where the issues and punishments at stake are admittedly more dramatic. This one is unfolding at Bowdoin College, and like many such situations, it evokes “Rashomon” in the conflicting versions of events recounted by the two sides. (Having some video of the events at issue would help, as will become clear.)
One of the few facts on which both parties agree is that Bowdoin is poised to punish a longtime professor of economics, Jonathan Goldstein, based on an investigative committee’s findings that he engaged in research misconduct (failing to cite sources) and used confidential data in the draft of a paper on his Web site last fall about the relative emphasis on intercollegiate athletics at Bowdoin and 35 other liberal arts colleges. The two sides also agree that the primary bone of contention in the situation is that Goldstein sought to distribute the paper to high school students and families visiting Bowdoin’s admissions office last fall.
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