What to do if I am on a hiring committee and I am aware that a candidate has exhibited unethical behavior in his previous position?

Question

After a series of unethical incidents that affected me directly in my previous academic institution, I managed to move to a higher ranked department in my field about seven years ago. I am now in the hiring committee in my current institution and one of the candidates who is being considered is from my former institution.

There are two unethical practices that the candidate performed that I am aware of. One is that he managed to squeeze in as a third author on a finished paper and he thus made no contribution. I did most of the work for the paper and the paper was finished when my co-author added this person's name and submitted it. The second incident is that the candidate has announced in the past how he has changed his research results before submission to please the editor of a top journal in my field. He did this in the early years of his career. There are others in my former institution who know about it but they find this to be no big deal.

I am considering doing one of the following:

1. Discuss this with my current dept.
2. Keep quiet and stay in the committee.
3. Keep quiet but step down from the committee

For your information, I am a foreigner whose work is appreciated by everyone. However, I feel that I will not get much support if I open up. I had tried this in my previous institution and I realized that only a couple of people supported me. What should I do?

Answer 1

If you're on the hiring committee, then your job is to evaluate the candidates. I see no need to back away from that (and by the way, I can't see what your being a "foreigner" could possibly have to do with any of this).

One has to exercise some restraint in repeating "hearsay" in official matters: unless you can find evidence about the changed research, I would hesitate to bring it up because it's hard for everyone else to independently evaluate. On the other hand, if you are a coauthor of a paper with the candidate in question, then your colleagues should be very interested to hear your take on that. I think you should certainly describe the candidate's contributions -- or lack thereof -- honestly to your colleagues. I might avoid putting the banner of "unethical behavior" on it: the ethics of it are really for your colleagues to evaluate as well, right? In general I think that in these kinds of matters it is more collegial and also more convincing to provide information which is factual rather than subjective or purely evaluative.

There is also the issue of why you, as the first author of a paper, allowed a coauthor whom you feel did absolutely nothing. Isn't that at least arguably unethical behavior on your part? I think it's better not to open that can of worms, but rather say that in fact the candidate's contribution to the joint work was minimal and that you do not feel like he should get much credit for it.

Answer 2

If committee members had to step down just because they knew something about a job candidate, no one would ever get hired (or at least no one good). My impression from serving on a hiring committee is that prior knowledge of the person's professional/research activities is a good thing, since it allows you to make a more informed decision about their merits. It would be appropriate to step down (or refrain from discussion of this candidate) if you had non-academic dealings with this person that might color your judgement (e.g., a romantic relationship, a business venture, a childhood friendship). Of course, you should clearly differentiate between evidence-based facts about the person and your own opinions of them, but I don't think it's wrong to mention your opinions to the committee.

That said, the two examples of "unethical behavior" you give seem quite different to me. Getting a third-author credit on a paper without doing much work doesn't seem like much of an ethical breach to me, unless the means by which this was achieved were themselves unethical (e.g., bribes or threats).

I'm not sure what you mean by "changed his research results", but if you mean "falsified his data", then that sounds seriously unethical. If you have evidence that the candidate has done this, you should definitely share that with the committee. If you don't have direct evidence, but you've heard the candidate himself admit to it, that's worth sharing too. If you've just heard secondhand rumors where other colleagues suggested the candidate had done this, that could be mentioned, but you should make it clear that you're only reporting about how the person is perceived by their colleagues, not anything you know for certain they actually did.

Answer 3

The failure to act against an unethical act is a breach of ethics in itself.

1. If you have any evidence to suggest that he falsified the results, DO NOT step down. You will have failed your duty as an academician. You must report the facts. Whether or not he is chosen by the committee after that is a collective decision. It would definitely be wrong to deprive them of this very relevant information.
2. If you disapprove of the way he nudged into your paper at the last minute, you must try to objectively decide if your disapproval is a result of your own prejudice. If you find that hard, you could consider consulting your co-author and seek to clarify the issue. If he fails this test, you are obligated to report this too. (Although, try not to colour it with your perspective. Cold, hard facts only.)

I disagree with an answer here that suggests you need 'infallible' proof. If you have reason to believe there is something wrong, you must share that intuition. It is what separates a hiring committee from an automatic resume-ranking tool. Be sure to separate the facts from your personal judgement. If you must err, do it on the side of caution. (Inform the committee, but let them know you aren't confident)

Answer 4

If you make an accusation about any individual(s) you must have proof. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people get accused of things without proof. I myself have been accused of things I haven't committed. It's unethical to accuse without proof. Also, I personally believe the proof must be complete and infallible. Accusing someone of falsifying data is one of the most serious accusations that can be made in academia.

Now, if you yourself are certain about the person's guilt beyond any doubt in your own mind, then I believe you are well within your right to step down. You can explain to the others that you are ethically compelled to step down. If your "bosses" demand an explanation, then you can tell them that although you don't have proof about something committed by someone, you are personally 100% certain it took place. That way, if the unethical person gets hired, you will be blameless for that decision.

If you say you are stepping down for ethical reasons, I think it will generate great curiosity among your colleagues. They may demand an explanation. It seems to me that saying anything without proof that prevents a person from getting hired is legally risky.

Answer 5

The first question I would put is: 1. He is smart/competent enough for this position? 2. Is he a hardworker who will contribute?

Come on man, everybody makes mistakes. Just get over it and make sure it does not happen in the future.