Tamarack River Ghost: A Novel

41. Department Decisions

238 Department Decisions 41 In a series of meetings in the Department of Agribusiness Studies and in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences as a whole—deadly serious meetings held without fanfare or publicity—the “Randy case,” as it was called, was discussed at length. Randy appeared at each of these meetings to share his side of the story. Emily also appeared at each. For a time, the meetings seemed a series of “he said, she said” conflicts, with the attendants having difficulty knowing where to place blame. Ultimately, the information Department Chair Evans shared about Emily’s actions at Ohio State University swayed the committee toward accusing her of tampering with data. However, they did not let Randy off the hook. He was, after all, responsible for the research project and for supervising his graduate student, both of which he had failed to adequately do. Emily turned on all her charm at these meetings, but crotchety professors worrying about their department and their college’s reputation are not easily charmed. She thought carefully about the appropriate time to share the video she had made. Ultimately, she decided it would probably weaken her case. She decided to pack it away—Another day, another time, she thought. The day after the semester ended, Evans called Randy into his office. Randy had a good idea of what was coming; he hadn’t slept for many nights, worrying about his future, concerned about how he hadn’t properly supervised his graduate student who had presented tampered research results to the public. More than anything else, he worried about Emily’s video. No matter what, he knew his career was in serious jeopardy, if not entirely derailed. 239 Department Decisions “Have a chair, Randy,” Professor Evans said, motioning to the only chair in the office that did not have something piled on it. “I suspect you know why I wanted to see you.” “Yes, I believe I do,” said Randy. His face felt hot and his stomach was churning. “Well, I’ll get right to it. As a better than average researcher, I believe you know how serious it is when data are tampered with,” said Evans. “Yes, I do.” “It’s one thing to make a mistake; we all do that from time to time, but to alter data, that is unforgivable.” “I know that,” said Randy. He could feel a bead of perspiration trickling down the side of his face. He brushed it away. “After several meetings and considerable discussion, we are convinced that Emily Jordan was responsible.” “Yes, she admitted it to me.” “You probably know that she never admitted it to me or to the ethics committee, but she said you did the tampering and at the Willow River meeting she only did what you told her to do.” “I wasn’t aware of that,” said Randy angrily. “You probably also didn’t know that she did something like this when she was studying at Ohio State. They couldn’t prove anything, but they asked her to leave, nonetheless.” “Really? I wish I had known.” Randy sighed and slumped back in his chair. “We all wish we had known,” said Professor Evans. “But even though she did the actual tampering, you, Randy, were responsible for the project, supervising her work, and making sure what was reported was as accurate as possible.” “I know that,” said Randy. He looked down at his hands. “So, here’s what we’ve decided to do. First, we have discontinued Emily Jordan’s research assistantship, as of the end of this semester. She will be leaving the University of Wisconsin and will likely not be pursuing a PhD at any major research university, at least in this country.” “Yes.” It was all Randy could think to say, because he knew that the 240 Department Decisions other shoe was about to drop, and that shoe would land squarely on him. He also thought of Emily’s dreaded video and wondered why she hadn’t already shared it with Evans when he discussed canceling her assistantship. Or was something else going on, something that no one yet knew about Emily’s real reason for tampering with the data? “The department’s personnel committee has decided not to renew your contract. You may teach here for one more year as you look for other employment. I will write you a letter of recommendation, provided you...