International - Misconduct Cases
Access to Raw Data Denied in Israel Misconduct Case
Volume 13, No. 2, March 2005
A professor of anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has agreed to retire rather than face disciplinary proceedings over research misconduct allegations, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education (2/11/05).
Meira Weiss, the immediate past chairwoman of the Israel Anthropology Association, reportedly said she agreed to retire because legal costs associated with the proceedings could amount to $100,000 and she had lost faith in the university because of its handling of the allegations.
Professor Weiss said she was angry because the university committee investigating the allegations demanded that she provide them with her field diaries, transcripts of interviews she conducted with research subjects, and the names of her subjects and informants.
According to Professor Weiss anthropologists in Israel are forbidden to betray the confidentiality of sources by the code of ethics of the American Anthropological Association. The current chairman of the Israel Anthropology Association, said “the demand to see field diaries is illegitimate no matter what the circumstances.”
A university spokeswoman declined to name the specific charges against Professor Weiss, but issued the following statement:
“In the wake of the heavy suspicions concerning the reliability of Prof. Meira Weiss’s scholarly work, a committee of experts was appointed. Professor Weiss, who was notified of the establishment of the committee and of the allegations against her, was given an opportunity to respond in writing both to the original allegations against her and to the interim report of the committee. The committee, which carefully examined the allegations in light of Prof. Weiss’s responses, found that there was a prima facie basis for the allegations and thus recommended that she undergo disciplinary proceedings.”
The university statement provided the following rationale for accepting the offer of early retirement in lieu of disciplinary proceedings:
“The university’s consideration was the great importance of concluding the proceeding in the swiftest possible way. It was clear to the university that conducting a disciplinary proceeding on such a serious violation was liable to take a considerable time, during which the university would have to continue to employ Prof. Weiss, despite the suspicions against her. The suggestion of Prof. Weiss’s counsel made it possible to terminate her employment immediately, without her continuing to teach, to supervise students, and to receive research grants from the university.”
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