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April 11
Professor for Hire
Readers of The Washington Post were treated on Thursday to the latest salacious details of the “D.C. Madam” trial, a federal racketeering case in which prosecutors are attempting to prove that Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s escort service was really an illegal, high-class prostitution ring. The proceedings, and the mythical list of clients she’s dangled in front of the press, have already ensnared politicians and others far outside Washington’s orbit. Now it’s higher education’s turn to get roped in.
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In Wednesday’s testimony, a former academic and university department chair took the stand and admitted to earning some extra income on the side: $250 per sexual encounter as an employee of Pamela Martin & Associates.
Until it became clear that she would have to testify in the case, Rhona Reiss, 63, had been the graduate program director of the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions’ transitional occupational therapy degree program. She earned a Ph.D. in higher education in 2000 and has some 35 years of experience as a clinical and academic instructor of occupational therapy since earning degrees in the field from the University of Florida and the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s.
But not on her resume was her time as an escort for Palfrey’s service, from about February 2001 to April 2002, while she was still teaching and, for part of the time, acting as a department chair, she said in an interview Thursday. During that time, she taught classes at Towson University in Maryland and was interim department chair of occupational therapy at Howard University. (Howard did not respond to an e-mailed request to confirm her time there.)
“I was unemployed at the time. I did it because I needed money, I was between jobs, I had just finished my Ph.D. and I was not working, and it takes a long time to get a position as the department chair.... I was running out of money,” Reiss said.
She said that her financial troubles came at a tough period in her life: a just-completed doctorate, a parent who was ill, and a son she needed to raise. She had risen to a university administrative position and was pursuing the Ph.D., as many do in the field of higher education, as a credential for career development.
“Certainly at the time I had no indication that she was involved in any activities outside of her role as student and educator,” said Ron Newsom, an associate professor of higher education who chaired Reiss’s doctoral committee at the University of North Texas. (The title of her dissertation: A Comparison of the Leadership Styles of Occupational Therapy Education Program Directors and Clinic Administrators.) Newsom also called her a “competent student, rational, logical; she did good work. “
But after earning the degree, an adjunct faculty salary was far from enough to live on. “I did what I had to do, and you know, I grew up in an era when sex ... was recreation. I grew up in the ’60s and ’70s and I didn’t think it was such a horrible thing. I came from the era of free love, and I needed money, and that’s what I did,” she said.
In 1995, before completing her doctorate but after she’d done her coursework, Reiss was named director of education at the American Occupational Therapy Association — “a dream job,” she called it, a visible leadership position in her field. As part of her work there, she helped to elevate occupational therapy as a field from a bachelor’s to a master’s degree level. But she eventually resigned so she could work full time to finish her dissertation.
“I’m ashamed because I don’t want to discredit my profession or any of the universities I worked for, because I have a good record, and now it just ruins my reputation … that the public knows that I did this.”
While studying at North Texas, she also served as an assistant dean in occupational therapy at Texas Woman’s University. Now she’s been able to retire, something she noted wasn’t possible for Palfrey’s escorts in their 30s and 40s.
She noted, bitterly: “What other industry than academia would [take] somebody with 35 years’ experience who had held the highest ... position in the profession ... and would pay me an entry-level salary?”
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Comments
Yup
” .. What other industry than academia would [take] somebody with 35 years’ experience ..”
Yup-per! Happens every day, dear colleague. Expected to be that way for the foreseeable future. As the poet R.M. Van Winkle has noted, “word ta ya motha.”
L.L., at 8:55 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Shame on academe...
Just more evidence of the very high cost of academic degrees, especially if you are a woman. Undergraduate women one third her age sadly engage in the same behavior because they feel they have no other options.
Shame on the men who degrade these women in this way.
Timmy, at 9:20 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Reality
It is unfortunate that she found herself in this position. She isn’t the first and probably won’t be the last to take these measures to make ends meet. I am in no means justifying her actions but her reality is very real. How many others have taken similiar steps in order to make? How many students have done so in order to pay tuition or rent?
That being said I can only hope for the best in all of us.
Have a great day and continue to enjoy the sunshine.
Anthony, at 9:20 am EDT on April 11, 2008
As long as her actions don’t get somehow glorified by becoming a Movie of the Week or she doesn’t become a B-level short-term celeb, she did what she felt she had to do and that’s that. We should all move on.
Yurling, at 9:40 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Per her bitter comments at the end: Truer words have never been spoken!
Observer, at 7:39 am EDT on July 21, 2008
Is there one more part of the story — exactly how she suddenly got “a dream job” at the university? This would be a much more common occurrence than prostitution outside academia.
Michael Pyshnov, at 10:00 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Ways of paying for postsecondary education
So let’s see now. In this country, it’s considered acceptable, even morally superior, for a woman to choose to enlist in the military and be sent to Iraq and risk her life, in order to earn money for college. But it’s a crime for a woman to engage in sexual acts in return for money, to earn funds for college. If I were someone choosing between those two options, I know which one I would go for.
Thank god I already have a Ph.D. and tenured position. Because if I had to rely on selling my body for money, I’d be destitute.
Don, Professor at Pennsylvania State University, at 10:05 am EDT on April 11, 2008
See Lizzie Borden’s _Working Girls_ (1987)
Quoted from from _Video/Movie Guide 2002_ by Mick Martin and Marsha Porter:
“The sex in this feminist docudrama about prostitution is about as appealing as the smell of dirty socks. The story, on the other hand, is compelling, thought-provoking, oddly touching, and often funny. The main character, Molly, (Louise Smith), is a Yale graduate who lives with her female lover and is working toward becoming a professional photographer.”
Directed by Lizzie Borden
Susan Alexander, at 10:25 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Professor for Hire
I have to say that after answering my students emails and eating my breakfast, this article has made me nauseous.
I am the last person to judge anyone but the reasons that I am working in the academic area have absolutely nothing to do with money. Yes, I need to eat and it is not a total charity but even though my students earn more than I do when they graduate, I would never trade the life of a professor for anything in the whole world.
I suggest that anyone frowning at this look at the video of “The Last Lecture” and consider your priorities in life. I want to be a Tigger!!! I admire Randy. He is a great example of a professor who has done it all for the love of teaching and learning.
Joan Morris, ARNP, instructor at University of South Florida, at 10:25 am EDT on April 11, 2008
There’s no “class” in this class
Andy — forgive me for the nit-picking, but would you and the reporters of IHE please forbear from using the term “high-class prostitution"? Prostitution is prostitution, no matter the cover charge. I don’t know how this term became a means of separating the business of the street from the business that happens in a high-rise, but I expect it’s a difference that means more to the customer than the person delivering the service.
Hoosier Prof, at 10:25 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Into the light
I was very happy to see this come to light. When will the bible thumping Americans realize that prostituion is older and perhaps in its own way more honorable than education. We are all human, even those with PhD’s who want the world to see us as something greater than the common man. I think she dihonored no one, not even herself, by revealing her humanity. Walk tall, Doc, you have NOTHING to be ashamed of in my eyes.
Martin, at 10:40 am EDT on April 11, 2008
I just don’t buy it.
I’ve been in very bad financial situations in my life and never once thought about being a prostitute. Fancy that! If I had to give somebody a blow job for money, I’d rather shoot myself or decide to get my PhD at some other more stable time in my life. Sorry.
Elizabeth, at 11:25 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Fallback position
Occupational therapy, indeed. Meanwhile, as in corporate America, university and college presidents are being paid millions and living in mansions, making deals that screw the masses, and having sex with...
Anna, at 11:25 am EDT on April 11, 2008
Get real
” .. The main character, Molly, (Louise Smith), is a Yale graduate who .. is working toward becoming a professional photographer.”
I’ve seen this movie — nice arc. I also known a few professional photogs (i.e., those who actually pay all their bills with their original work.) Very competitive — probably no more than a few thousand in entire country, most in NYC, L.A., and Chicago.
Key point: when 350 PhDs apply for one TT state-university A&H job — that’s problematic.
Anyone who thinks the world owes them a job — good luck. It ain’t gonna happen. There’s not a country in the world that allows PhDs to “expect” an academic job.
Bart, at 12:00 pm EDT on April 11, 2008
What other industry?
“What other industry than academia would [take] somebody with 35 years’ experience who had held the highest ... position in the profession ... and would pay me an entry-level salary?”
Try the entertainment industry.
This is not just a feminine thing btw. There are plenty of male prostitutes.
Faculty Person, at 12:20 pm EDT on April 11, 2008
Why should we care?
When will we drop our Puritan ideas about sex in this country? Certainly, this person should understand how to protect herself from disease, so why should we care if she has sex, with whom she has sex, for what reasons she has sex, and if she earns a portion of her income from having sex? Many seem little concerned that she found herself unable to support herself and her children even while working at an “honorable” job. Why, “W” might even have her stand by him as he touts the greatness of working two jobs to make ends meet! Hell, some governors would even contribute to her work.
Sex is a part of human function. Is it so horrible that people might enjoy it or even support themselves from others’ enjoyment? The only “discredit” going on here is dragging this person into this asinine prosecution and allowing those of us who never do anything “wrong” to tut-tut about about it.
Cal, at 1:35 pm EDT on April 11, 2008
Prostitution
There is such hypocrisy in this country, and in academia specifically — why isn’t adjunct teaching viewed with horror and called prostitution? That’s what it is. What is the difference between a prostitution which requires us to give over our bodies, and one which requires us to give over our intellects and our teaching talents? Aren’t they equally obscene? There isn’t a university campus in this country which doesn’t take advantage of adjunct and contingent faculty labor; why aren’t THEY the ones being investigated on issues of morality? The fact is, adjunct teaching is what put this woman in financial straits to begin with — maybe we should mention THAT.
Debra Leigh Scott, at 4:15 pm EDT on April 11, 2008
“would you and the reporters of IHE please forbear from using the term “high-class prostitution"?”
Especially when she can be bought for a mere $250.
“A one-time health professional and clinical professor saw only one way out of her postdoctoral financial woes: high-class prostitution”
If she could only think of one thing to do, that speaks volumes.
JBM, at 6:30 pm EDT on April 11, 2008
To Debra Leigh Scott
Indeed. The madam of the “upscale?” brothel in the film _Working Girls_ has adopted the masculinist values of Reaganomics, saying, “It’s not easy being a woman in a man’s job” (i.e. pimping). She exploits Molly relentlessly until Molly finally asks her boss, “Ever hear of surplus value?”
There well may be, as you suggest, a strong—though surely imprecise!—parallel between prostitution and adjuncting. In her earlier film, _Born in Flames_ Borden depicts what would happen if there were a socialist revolution run by men. Not much would really change. In _Working Girls_, Borden seems to explore the implications of a capitalist feminism. No real change. The two films together suggest the need for both feminism and socialism.
Susan Alexander, at 11:30 am EDT on April 12, 2008
Cultural versus legal infractions
Since one of my areas of research is the relative importance of cultural versus legal infractions, I have several comments to make on this article. First, would the situation be different if she lived in the UK or Canada where such activity would be legal? In both countries, the principle is that escort services are legal since they do not offend public sensibilities. What if she had worked in a legal Nevada brothel?
My second question, which is not rhetorical since I don’t know the answer, is how would an academic institution deal with a professor who had spent time in jail for a DUI infraction? While much more dangerous to the public good, I would hazard the guess that drunk driving would be considered more socially acceptable than prostitution.
In my unit on intellectual freedom, one of my main points is that offenses against cultural norms are often treated more seriously than illegal activities. As an earlier comment stated, our culture still punishes acts that go against its conservative culture. Francois Mitterand, an avowed atheist, had his eulogy delivered by the Archbishop of Paris with his mistress as an honored guest at this funeral.
Bob Holley, Professor at Wayne State University, at 6:25 pm EDT on April 13, 2008
That is the difference between academics and professionals. Ethics...
“Swiss paediatrician Beat Richner, said he had turned down an offer of $US91,000 ($A97,700) raised at a New York auction last week of the 1993 picture of Italian ex-model Carla Bruni, now married to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“My decision was taken out of respect for our patients and their mothers,” he said in an interview with the weekly Le Matin Dimanche. “Accepting money obtained from exploitation of the female body would be perceived as an insult."”
Ure Loyola, at 8:00 pm EDT on April 13, 2008
I think I do — buy it
“Elizabeth” doesn’t buy the prof’s rationale for selling her body ... but as someone who’s in the last months of writing a dissertation, my fellowship monies and all savings depleted, no parental support, looking for but unable to find a job that pays anywhere near enough to cover my mortgage and still allows me enough time to write ... $250 an hour sounds pretty damn good. Last week, after paying my mortgage and homeowner’s insurance, I had 14 cents in my checking account and $32 in my savings. If I knew a DC madam, I would definitely be tempted to sell my body. God knows I’ve already sold my soul to academe for a (ready for a laugh?) humanities degree!
Mad Grad Student, at 5:00 pm EDT on April 14, 2008
Yup Americans are different
I found the string of comments here even more interesting than the article. It took me a while to remember that prostitution like this is illegal in most parts of the US while not in Australia. So I guess illegal work is not something an institution can necessarily ignore — but really why is there is a fuss? No evidence cited that Rhona Reiss did her other jobs badly, influenced students into prostitution or the like and indeed she seems unphased by it — so to say she was exploited seems challenging as well.
Conor King, Institutional Strategist at Victoria University, at 8:50 pm EDT on April 14, 2008
I’ll teach your classes OR, um, take off my clothes? Like Mad Grad, I’m in the last months of my program and I have started...get this...waitressing. You know who else works in my restaurant? FOUR OTHER PhD candidates. We’re line cooks, bakers, and waitresses, and we’re all trying to make ends meet. I actually kinda like waitressing, but if I was a prostitute...well...I bet my feet wouldn’t hurt as much at the end of a shift.
Another Mad Grad, HIRE ME, PLEASE!, at 7:15 am EDT on April 15, 2008
Bigger things to worry about
Let’s just make prostitution legal, so our prosecutors/courts can spend their time (and our tax dollars) on actual ‘crime’.
Jerry in LA, at 1:45 pm EDT on April 15, 2008
Idiots of our time
It is really amazing how people sit on thier butts and judge others. There are those of you who comment on the choices that others have made, while not discussing all the wrong things they have done in a life time. I would rather this lady have sex to pay the bills, then murder a spouse for insurence money, or allow an oil company to make billions of dollars off the blood sweat and tears of the American public. This lady sold her vagina not yours so what are you so mad about.
Woodrow Grady, at 4:25 pm EDT on April 16, 2008
the irnony of academia
While I happen to think that prostitution is a poor choice, I completely understand that desparate situations call for desparate measures. I, too earned a doctorate later in mid-life depleting all of my resources and accumulating massive student loans. The law of diminishing returns seems to apply, and the PhD rather than enahancing my career has compromised both my professional opportunities and my financial life. Rhona, I feel your pain.
Dr. Destitute, at 5:05 am EDT on April 17, 2008
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humanizing
Stories like this are good, because they treat people in her position as human. Now, all the people with PhDs that read this board will probably understand that they were a paycheck away from becoming a hustler.
That said, I don’t think she really discredited anyone.
Larry, at 8:10 am EDT on April 11, 2008