Ethics Scenario #59: Ornland University

59.  Barry is the president of a private, nonprofit university. The Dean of Science, Rocco, tells Barry at a staff meeting that a female teaching assistant has complained to him (Rocco) that she was sexually assaulted by a tenured male faculty member. Rocco reminds Barry that this is the third incident in which a female student has complained about the behavior of this particular faculty member, and it is likely that the charges are founded in fact.  Barry and Rocco discuss the political implications of having such an incident, whether or not it had occurred, being splashed on the front pages of the local newspaper, and the effects such a report might have on applications for admission and donations. Barry and Rocco agree that the best way to handle this is to do whatever it takes to keep the incident from becoming public knowledge, and authorizes the dean to make a large financial settlement to the woman out of a slush fund established for purposes such as this, in exchange for not filing charges, and an even larger settlement offer if she agrees to sever her relationship to the university and continue her studies at another institution--provided she agrees to keep everything totally confidential.

a. Is Barry’s behavior ethical?

b. Is Rocco’s behavior ethical?