“Now remember, Steven, whatever happens, don’t let them provoke you.” Anne said softly as she walked with Corby down the corridor towards the Dean’s office. “Let’s get the facts first, find out what they are accusing you of and then take time to think about a reply.”
“I know you’re right. Objectively.” Corby said, “But it burns me up to think of what I’ve gone through. And they have the effrontery to accuse me of unprofessional conduct.”
“Well bite your tongue and count to ten. Count to a hundred, if necessary.”
“Steven Corby.” He told the Dean’s secretary as they approached her desk. “My appointment’s at eleven.”
“Yes, Dr Corby. I’m afraid the Dean’s running a little late. You can wait over here until I call you.”
“I just wish it was a bit more specific.” Anne said as they sat down. “The computers we can discuss logically. As your helper, I’m not sure if I’m officially allowed to testify on your behalf but if they ask, I can clarify the situation of the computers in our offices. And you definitely didn’t write a virus?”
“The most they can say is that I saved some data on a machine where I wasn’t allowed to. But I’m not happy, Anne. I’m not at all happy with this.”
“You need to stay calm, Steven, calm. The important thing is not to let this get to you.”
“That’s all very well, but—”
Before he could go any further, the secretary returned to call them into the Dean’s office.
The Dean stood up as they entered and walked round his desk towards them. “Ah, good morning Doctor Corby. Do you know Donna Ballard, my deputy? She’ll be assisting me in today’s enquiry.”
“And this is Doctor Baxter. She’s agreed to be with me for the hearing. She was the one who originally complained about the computers in her office.”
“That seems a bit irregular. If she was the one who complained, I don’t know if she can be your assistant. I can see that there might be a conflict of interest. We might need to take advice on that.”
Corby seemed about to protest but Anne forestalled him. “If you need to postpone the hearing, I’m sure that would be fine for Doctor Corby. For my part, I feel quite comfortable that there isn’t a conflict and there might even be an advantage if any of the facts were in doubt. I could clarify them immediately.”
Willis looked uncertainly at his assistant but, after some thought, she said, “I think, John, that it would be OK, at least for this first session. After all, we have a record of what was said at the time so there can be no doubt of that.”
“Very well.” Willis gestured towards the table near the door to his office. “Let’s sit over here. This has to be a bit formal but there’s no reason to be uncomfortable.
“We have to keep a record of what’s said today so I’ve asked my secretary to join us to take notes. Before we begin the proceedings, however, you should be aware that Mr Fielding has kindly agreed not to proceed with the charge of assault which he would be entitled to bring, so I’m pleased to say this will be settled entirely within the disciplinary jurisdiction of the university.
“To the formal business of the accusation. Doctor Corby, you appear to have behaved most irresponsibly. We expect a certain standard of behaviour from the members of this university and, more importantly from our post-doctoral staff who are expected to set an example for their more junior colleagues.
“What we have been told of your behaviour over the last few weeks has to be taken very seriously. I don’t want to go into your encounter with Professor Stern. He’s an eminent, renowned – internationally renowned – academic, so there’s no excuse for accusing him of partisan bias and inappropriate allocation of research funds.
“Then we have the fact that you struck a fellow member of staff when he took you up on this.
“Even before all this, though, you are alleged to have abused the accommodation and facilities provided by the university – intended specifically as study space and for the performance of your teaching duties – by storing and operating an unsafe quantity of equipment. And I’m told you tampered with the university security system, substituting your own equipment for the official badge reader.
“Lastly, we’ve evidence that you impersonated an administration officer in order to gain access and load some sort of computer virus on the university network.
“In sum, if what we have been told is true, you have behaved in a thoroughly unprofessional manner and you’ve a great deal to explain.”
“I beg your pardon.” Corby spoke calmly but Anne could see his hands clenching. “You say that you’ve received reports of my behaviour. Who exactly is accusing me of all this?”
“Clearly, the initial complaints came from Dr Baxter and Mr Fielding,” Major Willis replied, “but the building services department have substantiated the information and Professor Stern himself has confirmed the accusations made against him. Mr Fielding has supplied the names of a number of witnesses to the assault and documented his investigation of the virus instance.”
“This is absolutely outrageous.” Corby exclaimed.
“Wait, Steven!” Anne Baxter interrupted. “Remember we said...” Corby, getting to his feet, continued vehemently.
“Absolutely outrageous. A farrago of half truths, distortions and outright lies. I have had my research destroyed, my personal property stolen, my good name besmirched. And now you accuse me, on the basis of what some malicious prat tells you. You talk about expecting a high standard of behaviour and then you produce this kangaroo court.”
“Doctor Corby!” Willis cut in. “That’s enough. We’re trying here to follow a process that can help us all. It provides a way to defuse an unpleasant situation and get things back to normal. I’ve already spoken to Professor Stern. You provide a rational explanation, we find an appropriate response. Case closed. What you’ve just said tends to make things worse, rather than better – don’t record the last bit. Now I’m asking you again, formally, to explain your actions.”
“Back to normal?” The effect on Corby was like a dentist’s drill hitting a nerve. “You think some sort of process would get things back to normal? I’ve lost three years’ work. Even if I had the computing capacity back, DENIS is gone. His personality’s lost. A new DENIS would start again as tabula rasa. He’d have different experiences and be completely different. And you have the gall to ask me for an explanation. What am I supposed to say? There’s nothing I can say. It just isn’t fair.”
Steven seemed to be nearly choking. He turned and strode out of the room and the door slammed behind him.
“I don’t know...” Anne said. “He gets very emotional about the loss of the computers.”
“So I see. There’s not a lot I can do for him if he carries on that way. See if you can persuade him to submit something in writing in the next day or two. Unfortunately I have to prepare a report to the university senate for their quarterly meeting next week. In the meantime the suspension will have to remain in force.” Willis glanced at his watch. “Let the record show that the session terminated at 11:19 a.m.”
No comments:
Post a Comment