It affects future research funding, promotions, and recruitment opportunities. If allocation of credit is poorly done, future research resources may in turn be misallocated. Most institutions provide formal grievance procedures when these issues arise, but the apprenticeship system that is used to educate medical scientists makes confrontation with better-established people a risky business, regardless of who is right. The office serves approximately 18,000 faculty, staff, trainees, and students hired or appointed by the 3 schools. Created in 1991, it is a neutral, safe place to discuss work and academic-related problems informally in order to help resolve conflicts.
Issues emerge through telephone calls, office visits, e-mail messages, and spontaneous meetings.
The office uses a simple checking system to keep track of sexual harassment, discrimination, authorship, and intellectual property and other career management issues. When problems fall into more than 1 category, each category receives a check mark. We also record the caller's sex, ethnicity, and job or academic position and where the problem occurred. We measure reports, not incidence, and our methods are not intended for formal research. In many cases, we are able to confirm the validity of the complaint.