The Boards found that Owen committed acts of sexual misconduct. That he failed to appropriately manage COIs related to expressing sexual/romantic interest is an aggravating factor to the finding that he had committed misconduct with respect to expressions of interest.[1] The Boards are not suggesting that a 2 year ban from EVF activities is some sort of default penalty for COI mismanagement.
I think many organizations in both the US and UK would have disassociated themselves from a former trustee for the conduct described in the Time magazine article alone. Thus, I do not think the sanction here is excessive. The Boards have no power to make decisions for the EA community or any other organization; that is up to all of us.
Julia made some (admittedly significant) errors of judgment in a very difficult situation not of her own making, where the existing policies, precedents, and resources were not remotely up to the task set before her. It is relatively uncommon for an organization to suspend or fire a longstanding employee for an honest mistake in judgment in one case on the job. I do not see any evidence that the Boards’ decision here was outside of their discretion.
I have no idea whether the Boards considered public reputation in deciding on this action. However, it would not have been inappropriate for the Boards to give some weight to Owen’s prominence and the need to set an example (“general deterrence”). By analogy, the US Department of Justice is pretty open that it goes after celebrities for criminal tax violations to achieve maximum public awareness and deterrence. Moreover, it’s appropriate to hold people in senior positions to a stricter standard.
It also wouldn’t have been inappropriate for the EVF UK Board to consider that it is under statutory inquiry in part for Board-related issues when addressing sexual misconduct by someone who was recently a trustee of that organization. No one has a right to be associated with EVF, and the Board’s responsibilities are to EVF and its mission, not to Owen personally. And of course, the Boards did not—nor did they have the power to! -- “banish[]” anyone from EA.
The Boards found that Owen committed acts of sexual misconduct. That he failed to appropriately manage COIs related to expressing sexual/romantic interest is an aggravating factor to the finding that he had committed misconduct with respect to expressions of interest.[1] The Boards are not suggesting that a 2 year ban from EVF activities is some sort of default penalty for COI mismanagement.
I think many organizations in both the US and UK would have disassociated themselves from a former trustee for the conduct described in the Time magazine article alone. Thus, I do not think the sanction here is excessive. The Boards have no power to make decisions for the EA community or any other organization; that is up to all of us.
Julia made some (admittedly significant) errors of judgment in a very difficult situation not of her own making, where the existing policies, precedents, and resources were not remotely up to the task set before her. It is relatively uncommon for an organization to suspend or fire a longstanding employee for an honest mistake in judgment in one case on the job. I do not see any evidence that the Boards’ decision here was outside of their discretion.
I have no idea whether the Boards considered public reputation in deciding on this action. However, it would not have been inappropriate for the Boards to give some weight to Owen’s prominence and the need to set an example (“general deterrence”). By analogy, the US Department of Justice is pretty open that it goes after celebrities for criminal tax violations to achieve maximum public awareness and deterrence. Moreover, it’s appropriate to hold people in senior positions to a stricter standard.
It also wouldn’t have been inappropriate for the EVF UK Board to consider that it is under statutory inquiry in part for Board-related issues when addressing sexual misconduct by someone who was recently a trustee of that organization. No one has a right to be associated with EVF, and the Board’s responsibilities are to EVF and its mission, not to Owen personally. And of course, the Boards did not—nor did they have the power to! -- “banish[]” anyone from EA.
The findings do not state whether the COI problems were associated with the individuals who were known to be upset by the advances.