KU News Release

Several events planned for Responsible Conduct of Research Awareness Week

LAWRENCE — Responsible Conduct of Research Awareness Week at the University of Kansas will feature a debate to help prepare science and engineering graduate students discuss controversial issues in public forums.

Four graduate students will debate “Should the State Fund Stem Cell Research?” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, at the Dole Institute of Politics.

The participating graduate students are Harihar Shiwakoti, civil, environmental and architectural engineering; Jamie Cunningham, molecular and developmental biology; Alexander Senf, electrical engineering and computer science; and Francisco Edmundo Vasquez, pharmacology and toxicology.

The students completed an argumentation and public speaking workshop led by Robert Rowland, professor of chair of the Department of Communication Studies, and Scott Harris, KU’s debate coach.

A group of journalism graduate students in the health and science writing program will question the debaters. The public is also invited to query the students.

Beth Fischer, director of the Survival Skills and Ethics Program at the University of Pittsburgh, will be the week’s keynote speaker. Fischer’s lecture, titled “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

John Finley, associate vice chancellor for compliance at the KU Medical Center, will kick off the week with his presentation, “Research Mistakes: Learning from History,” at noon Monday, March 5, at the Big 12 Room in the Kansas Union. Ben Eggleston and Ingra Schellenberg, both assistant professors of philosophy, will speak at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 6, at Clendening Auditorium at the medical center. Don Marquis, professor of philosophy, and Jerry Menikoff, associate professor of history of medicine, will address “Moral Issues in Clinical Cancer Research” at 6 p.m. March 7 in Regnier Hall at the Edwards Campus.

Responsible Conduct of Research Awareness Week, sponsored by the Graduate School, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and the KU Medical Center, is an opportunity for students and faculty to learn about and discuss ethical issues in research.

For more information, visit the Graduate School's Web site or call (785) 864-6161.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.