David Hart, a doctor in the Department of Pediatrics at Riverdale Hospital, an Australian hospital affiliated with the faculty of medicine at a leading nearby university, reported directly to the chair of the department, Stephen Michaels. Hart received funding for his research in the amount of AU$380,0001 per year from the Greene family, but because he was not a tenured faculty member, he was not able to directly control the contributions. Instead, the Greene Fund was administered by Michaels, under Hart’s supervision. While checking the accounting of the fund in December 2010, Hart discovered an irregularity that made him doubt Michaels’s administration of the donations. As more clues and irregularities emerged, Hart became convinced that the fund was being mismanaged and that this mismanagement was being covered up. When he eventually confronted Michaels, he found himself in a stressful and difficult situation, with little support. In 2018, the dean of medicine circulated an external audit that claimed there had been no wrongdoing, and Hart found himself facing a much larger, stronger opponent. Should he take action, pursuing civil or criminal charges? Should he leave the institution and take the donations with him? Should he stay where he was and deal with the consequences?

QUESTIONS

1. What kind of person is David Hart? What kind of person is Stephen Michaels? What are your thoughts about the identity and beliefs of the other actors?

2. How do we decide whether a situation is right or wrong, moral or immoral? What factors influence this decision?