Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You pursue a grant in the area of rheumatoid arthritis.
Because you are a successful researcher with several years of experience, and because your area of interest lies in rheumatoid arthritis, you decide to pursue a grant in that area.
You have no problems getting funding, and your project is off and running in no time. You're very excited about researching an area that holds such personal interest for you.
However, you begin to feel badly about your student Jenny. After all, she'll be graduating from the university within two years. As a student, doesn't she deserve the opportunity to work on a research project of her own choosing? How does it look for a university to support the personal research interests of a faculty member over those of a student?
You feel guilty over your decision, so you ask Jenny if she'll work on the rheumatoid arthritis research with you. She declines, which makes you feel even worse.
To top it off, the university's administration has found out that you're pursuing your own interests above those of a student, and they're not too pleased. In fact, you're beginning to wonder if this would affect the possibility of your tenure, which is coming up within a year.
Maybe you should have given Jenny a chance.
"If you have a good student who is interested in the genetics of multiple sclerosis, and you have a great idea that has something to do with rheumatoid arthritis, the choices become quite easy, because your student's interests are in one area versus another," says Dr. Ben Koop.