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A former Texas Tech University researcher, who was convicted of mishandling harassment complaints and cheating the university out of its share of clinical-research money, was sentenced last week to two years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

The professoriate is a gatekeeper, determining a student's first exposure to ethical standards, traditions. Many observers of contemporary academic culture have documented cases if irresponsible and unethical behavior within the professoriate. Examples include lateness for class, use of vulgarity in scholarly forums, showing favouritism among students, improper use of campus funds, plagiarism, sexual liaisons with students, failure to properly perform administrative duties, and, most basic, unwillingness to uphold the value of truth in teaching and research.

A non-profit corporation that provides a high-speed computer network to colleges in New York State agreed last month to pay the federal government $1.4-million in a lawsuit alleging that it had misused a federal grant.

At a Congressional hearing in April, the department's inspector general revealed that the agency has lost track of at least $450-million in the past three years. Much of the money was lost in duplicate payments to grant recipients, states, and contractors. But some of it, she said, was stolen or improperly spent by department employees and contractors.