Karolinska Institutet's Vice President Karin Dahlman Wright has today requested to be relieved from her assignment as vice president with immediate effect. Consequently, KI's University Board (Konsistoriet) agreed to relieve her from the assignment at an extra meeting today.
The decision follows reports of alleged scientific misconduct that were submitted to KI in the summer of 2018 and mainly directed toward Vice President Karin Dahlman Wright. The University of Gothenburg was asked by KI to investigate the complaints to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
The University of Gothenburg submitted its report at the end of last week, and its assessment is that two of the 10 published research articles under review contained such serious errors that they amounted to scientific misconduct. Karin Dahlman Wright is considered to share responsibility for one of these articles.
In her statement to the University Board, Karin Dahlman Wright says: "It has been made clear to me that the link that exists between 'misconduct' and my name makes it impossible for me to continue my assignment as vice president."
It is not incumbent upon the University Board to oversee the alleged misconduct case, which is being handled in accordance with the provisions in the Higher Education Ordinance and where the final decision will be made by the president of KI. The University Board is therefore not in a position to evaluate the assessments made in report from the University of Gothenburg. However, since the University Board appoints the vice president, it must consider whether Karin Dahlman Wright has the capacity under the current circumstances to continue to serve in her assignment as vice president. The University Board shares Karin Dahlman Wright's assessment that this is not possible.
The University Board's decision involves Karin Dahlman Wright's assignment as vice president only, and not her position as a professor at KI. The University Board thanks Karin Dahlman Wright for her efforts as interim president and vice president.
At today's meeting, Professor and Dean of Research Anders Gustafsson was appointed interim vice president. The university director was asked to come up with a proposal for a hearing process and timeline for recruitment of a permanent vice president by the University Board's meeting on October 14.
