CASE STUDY 4

Wendy is a professor of astronomy at West Tech. She is also halfway through her year long role as head of the program committee for the Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). In this role, she oversees the workings of the other astronomers on the program committee in deciding which submitted papers to accept for presentation at the meeting, and she leads the committee in making key decisions about keynote speakers and other conference sessions.


When she was asked to head the program committee, the program chair before Wendy emphasized the importance of being collegial and building consensus on the committee. “Other members of the program committee won’t like being dictated to,” he told her. “Some of them especially won’t like being dictated to by a woman.”


Mark, another member of the program committee, has prepared a short-list of keynote speakers for the meeting. All of them are accomplished astronomers who would be able to speak about groundbreaking research, and all are known to be entertaining speakers. However, one of the names on the list — the name of the astronomer Mark has listed as his first choice to invite — jumps out at Wendy. She recognizes his name because one of her graduate students has brought a formal charge of sexual harassment against him, stemming from events at the last Annual Meeting. Those charges are still being investigated, and any formal finding is likely to be months away.


Anxious not to reveal a confidential investigation that is ongoing, Wendy comments on the stellar qualifications of the other four astronomers on the short-list. Mark replies by recounting an amazing presentation his first choice made at a different scientific conference.


Before Wendy can figure out how to redirect the conversation, the only other woman on the planning committee blurts out: “I don’t care if he’s the best speaker in the world. He harasses students.”


One of the older members of the planning committee responds, “I’ve known Geoff for 35 years, and I’ve never heard such a thing. Besides, this is a meeting about science, and his scientific work is second to none.”


A younger man on the program committee says, “I’ve heard rumors about Geoff and the ladies, but if nothing is proven, we have to treat him as innocent.”


Mark repeats, “Geoff gives amazing presentations. But, we have an awful lot of students at our annual meeting….” He looks at Wendy uncertainly.


What should Wendy do here?.

 

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