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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five that houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
Court Overturns $2-Million Verdict for Former Coach at U. of Louisiana-Lafayette
The coach, one of the few African-Americans in big-time college football, was fired after three losing seasons. He sued, saying he had been dismissed because of his race.
The notorious vermin have forced Colorado State University at Fort Collins to cancel its annual Great Sofa Roundup, which allows students to donate unwanted couches.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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October 23, 2007
Congressmen Seek Details on Researchers With Ties to Tobacco Companies
A key Congressional committee is probing possible conflicts of interest among academic researchers leading a large, federally financed study of whether annual medical scans of smokers’ lungs can save lives. The committee is seeking detailed information about the scientists’ relationships with tobacco companies, and has suggested that federal rules governing conflicts among academic researchers lack strength in general.
Two of the study’s principal investigators testified as paid experts for tobacco companies facing lawsuits seeking to force them to pay for smokers’ annual CT scans, according to a letter, dated Thursday, to the National Institutes of Health from Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who leads the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees medical research. Congressman Dingell and Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of an investigations subcomittee, said that such potential conflicts “could damage the credibility” of the decade-long, $200-million National Lung Screening Trial.
The letter from the congressmen did not identify the lead researchers, but the Wall Street Journal said they were Denise Aberle, a professor of radiology at the University of California at Los Angeles, and William C. Black, a professor of radiology at Dartmouth College. Dr. Aberle and Dr. Black have said their testimony for the tobacco companies had no influence on their government studies, the Journal reported. Review panels at their institutions found no conflict, and Dr. Black returned a $700 consulting fee to a tobacco company’s lawyer after he was criticized for his testimony, the congressmen wrote.
The Journal reported that about 50 academic scientists were leading the study on lung-cancer screening, and the committee’s letter asked the NIH for information on all of their consulting relationships, expert-witness work, and financing sources on other research.
Under Mr. Dingell’s leadership, the committee has said it is broadly examining federal rules for conflicts involving academic scientists. Thursday’s letter pointed out that the rules were “strikingly” less strict than the ones for the NIH’s own staff scientists, which were recently tightened after several scandals over conflicts. The rules for outside researchers largely leave it up to universities to identify and handle conflicts. —Jeffrey Brainard
Posted on Tuesday October 23, 2007 | Permalink |
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