University of Calgary leaders have defended their
institution against a prominent story in Maclean's magazine
that says an education professor there was allowed to retire
rather than be fired for scholarly misconduct.
     There was no "secretive coverup" in the case, says
Richard Haskayne, chair of U of C's board of governors, in a
letter to Maclean's that was also published in the
university's own newspaper.
     At the centre of the case is Dr. Prem Fry, a child
psychology specialist who had been at Calgary since 1966.
     "Maclean's has learned," said the magazine's December 9
issue, that "a controversial chain of events led to Fry's
untimely retirement, as well as a secret arrangement
sanctioned by" U of C president Dr. Murray Fraser.
     The controversy started when Fry gave a public lecture
about her work comparing children raised by single mothers
and by single fathers. A retired colleague wrote to the dean
of education to charge that Fry had not given proper credit
to her sources and collaborators, and that some of her data
"must have been taken from thin air".
     The dean, as U of C policy requires, set up an
investigation committee. Maclean's noted that its report
"has never been made public", but the magazine said the
committee upheld the charges and the dean recommended to the
university president that Fry be fired.
     Says the magazine article: "In an interviewÉ the
president said that he, in turn, examined the report of the
committee and the recommendation of the dean. He also
interviewed Fry, consulted a lawyer, and asked senior aca
demic colleagues for advice. Based on the evidence and those
consultations, Fraser said he then recommended to the
university's board of governors in March, 1993, that Fry be
dismissed."
     She took the dismissal to arbitration, and then
arranged to take early retirement at the end of August 1993.
That ended the dismissal proceedings, and Fraser wrote to
the original complainant that the allegations and Fry's
guilt "remain undetermined". Fraser told Maclean's that he
had allowed the early retirement to end the affair because
it was not clear that an arbitrator would uphold the
dismissal.
     The magazine went on to note that "former students and
co-authors of Fry", as well as editors of journals in which
her articles appeared, have not been notified that there may
be something wrong with Fry's scholarly work.
     "The affair also raises questions," it concluded,
"about how the University of Calgary, and perhaps other
publicly funded institutions of higher learning, deal with
allegations of scholarly wrongdoing."
     In his letter to Maclean's, Haskayne declared that the
affair had been handled "professionally and responsibly".
     He wrote: "Throughout the investigation, Dr. Fry was
eligible to retire, and when she elected to do so she
received no special compensation or consideration. Her
decision to retire effectively ended the potential
arbitration proceedings and no disciplinary measures were
invoked. The university has no authority over someone who is
not an employee.É
     "Finally, I would point out that most universities
across Canada re only beginning to grapple with the complex
issue of scholarly integrity."