GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Following a faculty report that alleged COVID-19 research data was destroyed at the University of Florida, school leaders say they have launched a formal investigation.
In a statement sent to faculty and staff, UF Vice President for Research David P. Norton said the university "takes breaches in research integrity very seriously."
"Through a recent UF Faculty Senate report, UF Research became aware of possible violations of the UF Policy on Research Integrity as it relates to the reported destruction of COVID-19 research data at UF," the statement reads in part.
Norton says the results of the formal investigation will be made public once completed.
The Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Freedom was tasked with gathering information about the university's practices and reports that it restricted faculty's rights to academic freedoms and free speech.
According to the report, the committee was informed of instances in which UF employees "were told verbally not to criticize the Governor of Florida or UF policies related to Covid-19 in media interactions."
They were also allegedly restricted from speaking out and providing op-ed pieces. When it came to written commentary, the report shows restrictions included faculty not being able to use their UF titles and UF affiliation.
"There is a palpable feeling of fear among tenured and non-tenured COM faculty of reprisal if they speak out on these issues," the report reads.
Other accounts provided to committee members outlined reported "inconsistencies in procedures" related to access to unidentified COVID-19 data, disposition of de-identified data, destruction of de-identified data, and publication of de-identified data.
Recently, UF has been the subject of headlines for initially prohibiting three professors from testifying on Florida's implementation of a voting restrictions law, and claims it wanted professors to remove words like "critical" and "race" from syllabi.
