1. Preserving a Culture of Trust Paul Tanaka Office of University Counsel

2. Why did events in State College become The Pennsylvania State Scandal?  Not the Jerry Sandusky Scandal?  Not the Second Mile Scandal?  Not the Penn Department of Welfare Scandal?  Not the Centre County District Attorney Scandal?

3. We are an Institution of Higher Expectation  We see ourselves as belonging to a community that represents the best of society  Including a place with high ethical standards  But the cynical public has lust for stories of failure of higher education

4. Other Headlines

5. The Dilemma  We believe higher education is best when we operate in a culture of trust  We want to do more scholarship and less compliance  But higher education has had dramatic failures  So the question becomes: How do we preserve a culture of trust?

6. The Usual Institutional/Governmental Solutions  Legislation  Regulation  More Policies  More Procedures  And public flogging

7. That Dirty Word: Compliance AAU/COGR Survey of PI Administrative Burdens on Federal sponsored programs:  1980’s: 18% of time  Now: 42% of time Source: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/gcprod/documents/RFIRegReview_CouncilGovtRelationsAppendix_03212011.pdf

8. What Does Experience Tell Us? The worst problems arise from  Ethical Failure  Ignoring the problem  Decisions, incentives and rewards unconnected with ethical standards  Or, in the worst case, a combination of the above

9. What Can Chairs Do? Do ethics get any consideration in: Who we hire? The evaluation process? Who we promote? Who we reward? Who we recognize?

10. Common Hiring/Tenuring Issues  Knowingly hiring, tenuring or promoting individuals with a problem history  Ignoring the importance of collegiality  Hiring a team, without asking who is on the team  Lack of diligence:  Not calling references because of a known general reputation  Not asking reference questions about ethics and character

11. Sometimes Time Therapy Won’t Work  We all have that place where unpleasant things might end up: the back burner or the “get to it later pile” or if there is enough gravity, the black hole.  But that’s not the place for these clear ethical issues: Abuse of colleagues and students, lying, cheating and stealing.

12. More Talk is Not Always the Answer  Yes, fairness requires that we be interactive, we talk and listen.  Unfortunately, ethical problems are not sourced in reason.  And, deep character flaws are not cured by talk.

13. The Chair’s Role  Ethics a consideration in decision-making, especially relating to personnel  Empowering staff whose job it is to facilitate compliance  Seeing the difference between fast; and fast and loose  Developing intuitions about what’s a red flag  Reaching out for confirmation  In short: Developing a team with sound judgment

14. Discussion