Aug. 15

If One Professor Gropes, Does Everyone Need Training?

That what Arthur H. Miller is accused of doing would constitute sexual harassment is, one would hope, obvious to anyone who works in higher education. The political science professor at the University of Iowa was arrested last week on bribery charges arising out of accusations by female students that he told them he would give them higher grades if they let him fondle their breasts. In one case, he is alleged to have grabbed and sucked on a student’s breast and then sent her an e-mail telling her that she had earned an A+.

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Miller hasn’t commented on the accusations, although his wife has said he is innocent. Miller is on paid leave, pending a university investigation, but another move by the university raises the question of what sort of educational programs are necessary for a university to prevent harassment. Sally Mason, Iowa’s president, announced on Tuesday that she plans to extend the university’s sexual harassment training — currently required only for those with supervisory roles — to all professors and other employees.

Many experts on sexual harassment say that Mason’s action is the right thing to do — and would be even if the Miller case hadn’t come along. Training everyone means many more people understand the laws and university policies, and will know how to be supportive of colleagues or students who may be being harassed, they say. Requiring all employees to get training shows that “our responsibility to our students should be first and foremost,” and that harassment is a problem that is serious enough to warrant professors’ attention, said Billie Wright Dziech, a professor of English at the University of Cincinnati and co-author of The Lecherous Professor and of Sexual Harassment in Higher Education: Reflections and New Perspectives.

But others question whether requiring all professors to go through training is necessary or appropriate. “In the circumstances, many faculty would feel that they were being blamed for the actions of an individual, and that would be unfair,” said Ernst Benjamin, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors. “One would want to look into whether there is a climate problem or an individual problem,” said Benjamin. When colleges require such training of everyone, he said, “it can discredit the whole business. People who are opposed to sexual harassment regulations have a field day and talk about overkill.”

The Iowa training that has been provided to supervisors up to now (and which may be modified based on consultations with faculty leaders) has covered state and federal laws, university policies, definitions of harassment, and information on how to respond to complaints about harassment. Cases are presented for discussion and participants take a self-quiz to test their knowledge.

Michael W. O’Hara, president of the Faculty Senate at Iowa and a professor of psychology, said that he is hearing a range of reactions from colleagues about the expansion. “Many of the faculty are thinking: Why are we having such a dramatic response to one incident?” O’Hara said.

Personally, O’Hara said he wasn’t bothered by the idea of training for everyone. “We have responsibility for our graduate students and for others on campus that we either supervise or know, and I don’t see it as a bad idea for us to be educated as to what constitutes sexual harassment,” he said. At the same time, O’Hara noted that because he works in a psychology department, he is used to mandatory training — on such topics as research with human subjects — “so I may have less sensitivity than some of my colleagues.”

Should faculty members be offended by the suggestion that they should receive training on sexual harassment? Among leaders in human resources and those who advise colleges on their legal responsibilities, many said that while few colleges require everyone to undergo such training, they should do so — and shouldn’t wait for a professor to be facing charges.

Andy Brantley, chief executive officer of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, noted that harassment “can have a devastating impact on individuals” and that charges of harassment “have a significant impact on the work environment and the reputation of the institution.” Training programs, “very clearly emphasize that harassment will not be tolerated.” Further, he said that while “many employees think that harassment is a simple straightforward issue,” it isn’t, and there’s plenty they don’t know.

Kathy Hagedorn, a consultant who works with colleges on HR issues, said she would advise that all college employees receive information about sexual harassment. “The legal system has gotten very serious about the issue, and one of the few defenses can be that a university has educated its population on the subject and has adopted a ‘zero tolerance’ policy,” she said.

Ann H. Franke, president of Wise Results, which advises colleges on how to minimize risks they may face, agreed that training everyone is smart policy. “It’s ironic that educational institutions tend to do relatively little internal education,” she said. “I think professional development for faculty often consists of sabbaticals and a few resources on teaching effectiveness and attending professional conferences"; it should also include meaningful discussion of topics like sexual harassment, she said.

To those who would say that they know what harassment is, and why they shouldn’t engage in it, Franke said that part of training should reflect that “any faculty member could become the confidante of a student who has had a harassment problem,” and that common sense alone doesn’t prepare one for that role. She also noted that professors who would never themselves harass often fail to do anything about incidents they see. “Bystander intervention” is important, she said. “What do you do if you see something going on that shouldn’t be going on? How do you speak up?”

If programs are poorly managed, Franke said, they can create problems. But she said a well structured program can be done in two and a half hours and in a way that promotes real discussion and “doesn’t assume that everyone in the room is a harasser.”

After all employees go through training, she said, colleges can expect an uptick in complaints, but that shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing. “People report things sooner, before they have escalated into more serious problems,” she said.

Dziech, the author of The Lecherous Professor, also said that discussion of sexual harassment has been “sidelined,” and that discussion has focused too much on verbal harassment, as if that’s the only kind of bias that may exist. She said that while the kind of quid pro quo harassment alleged at Iowa has been “driven underground,” it “has not gone away,” and people need to be reminded of that. Further, she noted that in many cases where harassment incidents are publicized, it becomes clear that faculty colleagues “covered for one another” — suggesting the need for widespread training.

As student and faculty mores change, she added, more training is needed. Undergraduates who arrive on campus having grown up in “hook-up culture” may be vulnerable in different ways than previous generations, she said.

Focusing on the Real Problem?

Despite these arguments, some at Iowa and elsewhere object to the idea that training should be required for everyone. At Iowa, a complicating factor is that the university is facing charges that it mishandled accusations that two football players sexually assaulted a student in 2007 — and that this incident came only two years after the university faced criticism when a former basketball player was convicted for assaulting his then girlfriend. Privately, some faculty members at Iowa have said that if there is a pattern of some individuals not understanding their responsibilities not to harass or even assault women, those individuals are not faculty members. Why, these professors have asked, does the university seem slow to respond to the treatment of women by athletes, while rushing to require faculty members to receive harassment training?

Peter Wood, executive director of the National Association of Scholars, a group that has criticized required harassment training in many contexts, called Iowa’s move this week “an overreaction” and said it was unfair to professors. “One case does not make a pattern,” Wood said. “There is a history of harassment at Iowa, but it involves student-on-student harassment by athletes. So why in effect punish faculty members and employees when, if there is a problem, it lies in coddling out of control student athletes?”

Intruding on faculty time, he said, is “the easy thing to go after, rather than touch the precious athletes.”

Wood said that “any instance of harassment” is wrong, and that anyone who did what Professor Miller is accused of should be punished. But he challenged the assumption that more education and training would have an impact.

He noted that the University of Iowa completed a major study of sexual harassment issues in 2006, and that its recommendations were accepted by the administration. As a result, a Web page with information about policies was enhanced, posters were printed, brochures were distributed and so forth. There isn’t evidence, he said, that Iowa faculty members lack information about sexual harassment or why it is wrong.

“It’s ludicrous to think that the faculty member who was arrested was unaware that it was morally offensive to offer higher grades to several of his students if he could grope them,” Wood said. “I don’t believe there is a single faculty member who is unaware of the university’s sexual harassment policy. The fact that harassment took place did not happen because of the lack of awareness of the university’s policies.”

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

absolute horsecrap

Gee, collective punishment for some moron’s misdeeds. Have we seen all the presidential candidates forced to undergo similar nonsense? (Oops, maybe Edwards should have....) But a bad idea in kindergarten remains a bad idea for professors. So, when one of my students doesn’t prepare for class, I guess that’s the day to quiz everyone? How about firing all the administrators when one of them dips a hand into the public till? Let’s take the vocation of teaching into boot camp. I’m sure the results will be wonderful.

eddie barnes, at 5:10 am EDT on August 15, 2008

This is a classic example of some mindless edu-crat covering his butt with some over-the-top politically-correct posturing.

If I ever become an administator, shoot me.

Larry Gillis, at 7:05 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Is awareness the problem?

Awareness of the rules is not the problem in this case. There was never a time when it was not obvious to everyone that the incident in this incident was not just harassment but sexual assault which is a serious crime. It is also obvious to faculty members why taking bribes for grades in any form undermines the whole enterprise of higher education.

The main challenge presented by such a case is that it can be difficult to prove such allocations even though the crime committed is outrageous and very damaging to the victim. It is hard to see how making every faculty member spend two and a half hours undergoing mandatory harassment training can help determine the facts of an individual case.

It may be true that faculty need to be informed about state and federal laws governing harassment and to be familiar with the rules that individual schools have adopted to regulate conduct. But it should be obvious to everyone that the case cited has nothing to do with such a need.

One of the problems that exists for many universities is that they have adopted their own anti-harassment codes that go beyond the scope of state and federal laws and are infringements of free speech. It is common for controversies to arise on campuses when protests of affirmative action are treated as harassment.

I attended a meeting to discuss issues of harassment where participants were asked to describe instances of harassment that they had experienced personally. The participants were divided into groups and one representative of each group was asked to give an example.

Most of the examples brought up were not situations that in any way rose to the legal level of harassment. One in particular stuck out in my mind. A women’s softball player reported that a male acquaintence had told her that because a softball is larger than a baseball, the women’s softball is easier than the men’s baseball.

If this is the kind of nonsense that harassment training produces, then it is clearly counterproductive.

Jonathan Cohen, Professor of mathematics at DePaul University, at 7:35 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Harassment? Or assault?

If the allegations against this professor are true, then it sounds more like he crossed the line to assault and should be charged with a crime.

I agree that there is value in sexual harassment training for all university employees. I have seen a roomful of department chairs aged 50 and above be reduced to behaving like so many snickering, uncomfortable third-graders during one of these “training” sessions. To be honest, I was stunned at their general low level of understanding and knowledge of the issue. The procedure for reporting a complaint when a student confides in a faculty or staff member is particularly important. There should be training, done by the dean of the faculty, at the time of hiring. Catch-up training or reminders for all staff and faculty are about the only way to ensure that you’ve gotten the word out to everyone. I agree that, in the wake of publicized allegations, it looks like a CYA move. Perhaps in the academy, smart leaders will simply learn to say: “We’ve decided to turn this regrettable incident into a teachable moment, to do our best to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”

Jocelyn, at 7:45 am EDT on August 15, 2008

From the local papers

“Gee. Next, they’ll demand the tenured to have social skills and treat the non-tenured like human beings. Could accountability be next?”

L.L., at 8:05 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Demise too late Mr. Gillis

Your narrow-minded perspectives regarding what is a critically important and challenging dimension of higher education has already rendered you superfluous. I submit that there is a direct correlation between the quality and integrity of higher education and the prevalence of faculty who share your puerile attitude.

Scott, at 8:10 am EDT on August 15, 2008

No easy solution

First, I attended the University of Iowa as a graduate student in English. It is not the hotbed of sexual malfeasance that it’s painted to be in some news outlets. However there have been problems of sexual assault and harassment from athletes, graduate instructors, and faculty. Including the ones covered here, I can recall six instances in ten years.

I think that faculty have to attend enough meetings as it is, especially meetings about policies and procedures and hooray for our team. Typically these sorts of meetings are wedged into a time of the semester that’s very, very busy. And they’re often scheduled to run back-to-back so that you end up sitting in meetings for hours at a time. And the policies on sexual harassment are as clear as they can be, and the instance here and the others I can recall were clearly wrong.

However, I can think of one possible benefit of such meetings. Peer pressure. But then again, I suspect the individuals committing these acts are narcissists bordering on sociopaths, and they likely deceive themselves into believing they will never be caught or that it’s okay or some other rationalization.

I think the real solution is rapid dismissal. This would demonstrate very clearly that it’s not acceptable. But these cases are difficult to prove at times. It even can be difficult for the accusers to come forward, from what I’ve seen anyway. And dismissing someone unfairly or wrongly would be very unjust. And of course a university leaves itself open to litigation if it (even rightly) dismisses someone on insufficient evidence.

But this brings up the last issue. Why aren’t these matters handled in the criminal justice system? Why doesn’t the university just turn it over to the courts? I suspect it’s a mistrust of those systems combined with a sort of in loco parentis. If there’s a conviction there, then it’s easy to justify dismissing Prof. Gropey.

(Your homework for tonight is to read “Oleanna.")

JP Craig, at 8:35 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Awareness, but not just of the rules....

Sexual harassment can take many forms, some egregious such as what is alleged in Iowa, and many more subtle, that are still inappropriate and unprofessional. Many of these more subtle behaviors might not rise to the definition that many hold of “sexual harassment”; typically one might envision the classic “Lecherous Professor, ” but might not think that a screen saver on an office computer showing SI swimsuit covers would be an issue. The fact is that sexual harassment is defined by behaviors, emails, notes, and verbal exchanges in which direct sexual pressure or content is conveyed from one individual to another, and by indirect types of issues that create a climate that does not feel safe and respectful for everyone based on sexual content or overtones. The tough thing about this latter category is that frequently, there is no intentional target of harassment, and individuals may not even be aware that their behavior or choices may be viewed as harassing. Examples of these more “indirect” types of sexual harassment include ringtones that contain sexually explicit lyrics, sexually-explicit jokes or conversations in mixed company, personal items on desks that are sexually suggestive, or t-shirts with sex-themed graphics. I’ve learned the hard way that these things are an issue in my role as an Associate Dean, where I get to see the variety of behaviors and actions engaged in by faculty, graduate students, staff, and undergraduates on our campus, that create a climate that is uncomfortable for others. All of these behaviors, direct and indirect, are against policy, but the issue here is not lack of awareness of these rules and policies, but lack of awareness of how some personal choices may be perceived by others. From the university’s standpoint, it’s also more than perception; those perceptions can and do result in legal action. We’ve seen staff and faculty dismissed at our university over both types of harassment- there is no coming back from that, and careers have been ending. Thus, undertaking the training instituted by Iowa is not punishment, but protection for the institution and its faculty.

Dr MCR, Professor and Asssociate Dean, at 8:35 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Now theres an open mind!

“This is a classic example of some mindless edu-crat covering his butt with some over-the-top politically-correct posturing. If I ever become an administator, shoot me.”

Hey Larry, While it certainly falls under the category of “covering your butt” it goes much further and is certainly not mindless.

If we lived in a society were everyone respected everyone else and took responsibiluty for themselves there would be no need for theses obvious results.

But, we do not!

If the college is exposed to liability, and has to pay a large settlement, I suppose from your statements you would be okay with the plethora of bad consequences that would come from it to wit: tuition increases, less money for faculty development or salary increases, loss of reputation and perhaps decreases in enrollment as a result and the beat goes on. Are you really so shallow and narrow minded?

Besides you have all missed the point. The purpose of HR’s impetus to initiate this type of overarching training is for one reason and one reason only...so that in the future it is easier to fire any offender. After all, if this type of behavior were to occur after the training...

I would consider your request Larry, but guns are generally not allowed on campus. Thank your administrator!

R.F., at 8:45 am EDT on August 15, 2008

“One person sh**ts their pants, we all wear diapers”

This is a saying that we have in the Air Force. I don’t agree with it, but this is how things are done. When one person messes up then everybody has to pay the price. Unfortunatley, this is the way the world is going now. Nobody is responsible for their actions alone anymore. We, as society, have to drag everybody else into the discipline of others actions. Just another side effect of the “talk show” generation. “Don’t blame me, blame {insert name}.

Keith, at 9:10 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Response to Jocelyn

I would be far more sympathetic to your dismay of “snickering” were it not for the fact that your gender has used sex as a manipulative tool in the higher education arena for as long as grades have been assigned. Hate me for saying it, but please spare me the denials. Do you have any statistics on how many male faculty “over 50” have been propositioned, and the percentage that have declined? More importantly, are you as concerned and disturbed by the dynamics of female manipulation as you are the issue at hand? Perhaps we should have a policy that when such advances are made, the woman in question is charged with harassment.

Russell, at 9:25 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Dr MCR’s remarks perfectly illustrate why mandatory “harassment training” is offensive and inappropriate. In particular, it shows how administrators have extrapolated the meaning of “sexual harassment” far beyond the limits of behavior that is actionable under the law. A school that censors screen-savers showing women in swimsuits—presumably to the computer’s owner—is, in effect, imposing a ridiculously priggish set of rules on a population of adults. Anyone who claims to be harassed by the mere existence of this sort of thing is obviously ill-equipped to live in the world as we find it. What does she propose to do about newsstands and movie posters?

It is this administrative overreaching and its bullying tone that is chiefly offensive. The obligatory nature of the “training” is not calculated to prevent illegal behavior, but rather to make manifest the fact that one particular ideological faction rules the roost. The intent is not to convince thoughtful minds of anything but rather to frighten all-too-timid souls into acceding to the claims of a doctrinaire minority.

Any legitimate concerns of the administration could easily be met by circulating a memo laying out its rules along with established legal precepts on the issues involved. Presumably, professors can read. But that would not create the desired atmosphere of self=abasement. Moreover, it might expose the shaky status of university regulations that extend far beyond legitimate legal concerns and which, in fact, subvert First Amendment rights.

The combination of bureaucratic overreach and narrow dogma is pure poison to the intellectual tone of a university, and must be resisted wherever it pops up.

Fossil, at 9:50 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Wht a surprise

A culture that actively promotes the idea that right and wrong are culturally specific; that there are no absolutes; where pornography has moved from behind the counter to something that some universities actively celebrate as “authentic"; and there’s a problem with sexual harassment. Who would have thought it?

Clayton E. Cramer, at 9:50 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Mountain meet Molehill

Maybe it is because I’m not an academic, but I am completely surprised by the strong emotional reactions here. I think every company I’ve ever worked for has required some type of brief online training or incorporated it into employee orientation. I really thought is was the standard. And for people who work with students who might not always behave appropriately themselves? Why not? What is the harm for Pete’s sake. The university I work for does mandate some level of online training for all employees. Supervisors do a slightly longer version. I had no idea that was rare.

P.Brooks, at 9:50 am EDT on August 15, 2008

I find it incredible that the framing of the question of in-service training for faculty on managing risk in their interactions with students and others took the form of punishment. Equally amazing is the number of respondents who took that straw man argument and responded as though it was meaningful.

Acquiring knowledge and understanding is not punishment, unless of course your instructional style is painful to the recipient. An employer always has the responsibility to require and to assure a knowledgeable workforce. Students and other employees have a right to be treated with dignity and respect. If some of the faculty are concerned about the time requirement for training, then the discussion at the University of Iowa should be focused on how to deliver the training, i.e., face to face, on-line, or blended instruction.

Finally, training on issues of sexual harassment, will not stop some from engaging in harassing behavior, but it does set the standard of expected behavior for all to know, it does allow the institution to take swift and appropriate action because the standard has be clarified, and it moves to protect those most vulnerable in the higher education environment, our students.

George Steele, Inserivcing faculty is punishment?, at 11:10 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Time well spent!

Quoting from the article: “Peter Wood, executive director of the National Association of Scholars, a group that has criticized required harassment training in many contexts, called Iowa’s move this week “an overreaction” and said it was unfair to professors.”

I am amazed at the overreaction of faculty and others like Mr. Wood to the mandate to spend two and a half hours (once!) for an issue as important as sexual harassment. Their complaints are hardly worthy of educated people who ought to be aware that it can happen in many subtle ways, especially when the power relations between faculty and students are definitely tilted in favor of the former. The workshop can be very informative and provide the participants valuable insights. The expertise of people who conduct the meetings is not to be scoffed at. My experience at the one I was mandated to attend was that the men in my group had a hard time understanding the significance of it. Having seen a male colleague constantly making physical contact with female students, with seemingly innocent hugs and kisses, made us realize that the university was correct in requiring us all to take the training. It can only increase the sensitivity of faculty members not to engage in gestures and actions that can be harmful to others.

Dismal Scientist, at 11:10 am EDT on August 15, 2008

This is a criminal act, not “harassment". Universities should not let such cases become a material for feminist propaganda campaigns and feed the activity of “groups", “support groups", etc. The only role of administration must be referring the case to police, immediately. Currently, criminally abused students spend months, if not years, among the “groups", Grad. Students’ Unions and in the special administrative offices that conduct political brainwashing only, before realizing their betrayal.

Second, every new “policy” has this effect: the culprit gets away with only the “charges” of violating university policy, instead of facing criminal charges.

The same, by the way, is going on with treating research fraud as violation of “integrity", “misconduct” and “ethics” codes.

Michael Pyshnov, at 11:10 am EDT on August 15, 2008

response to russell

within your argument, you miss a key component to the male faculty-female student dynamic: it is one based on power at both the gender level and at the level of the academy. writing about these two demographic groups as if they exist on and equal playing field only serves to exemplify the general disinterest in truly addressing this on-going and widespread criminal issue.

RCD, at 11:10 am EDT on August 15, 2008

1) As has been said, this case is so obviously harassment that no training is necessary to identify it as such. The value of training is for dealing with harder cases and environmental factors that may contribute to harassment.

2) Requiring people to attend a training session doesn’t mean they’ll learn anything or change anything.

3) While there are indeed many aspects of culture and subtle behavior that contribute to harassment, training sessions that I’ve been to tend to treat that subject poorly. The presentations tend to elicit defensive reactions from a lot of participants who feel accused. Now, you can blame the participants for not getting it, but if a certain type of training experience repeatedly fails to get through to participants, perhaps that says something about the quality of instruction.

So, in summary, whether or not training is needed depends on factors far beyond this one very obvious case, and also depends on whether or not the training will be effective. If the training is not effective, then the only benefit is that some administrative asses were covered. If the training is effective, then the benefits to the campus may be substantial.

Assistant Professor of Physics, at 11:30 am EDT on August 15, 2008

What you don’t know about sexual harassment

Fossil illustrates why the training is important. Yes, a screen saver, if it can be seen by others, can be considered sexual harassment, as can many other of the items the Dean listed. Sorry if you don’t like that,but case law has established that sexual harassment takes many forms, not just the obvious extortion.

Ray Rose, at 11:35 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Professors, be glad of the chance to learn

I speak now as a former student, a teacher of high school through graduate school students, a person who has experienced mild sexual harassment, a participant in some rather silly sexual harassment training, and as someone who has designed and delivered what I hope is informative sexual harassment training.

Throughout these experiences, I have been constantly amazed by the level of ignorance among highly educated professionals about what constitutes sexual harassment from both a legal and ethical standpoint. Most harassment is not as egregious as groping or other forms of assault. And it is probably true that no amount of training will stop that kind of criminal behavior (an earlier writer was quite right to characterize it as narcisistic and sociopathic). However, for those willing to open their minds, there is much to learn about what offends, what causes pain, and what makes teachers and their institutions vulnerable to the many costs of lawsuits. Training is not punishment; it is an opportunity for institutions to inform, sensitize, and protect, and for individuals to learn about what offends others, their legal rights and responsibilities, and whether and how they and their employer, the university, might be vulnerable. How can this be a bad thing?

I suggest that students and employees also participate in sessions so they know that there is an agreed upon standard of ethical and legal behavior that applies to everyone and so they can learn ways of turning harassment aside before it occurs and responding when it does.

CB in Chicago, at 11:40 am EDT on August 15, 2008

Screen savers?

A number of years ago, a female professor at Penn State complained that she was being harassed because the lecture room in which she taught was decorated with a copy of Goya’s “The Maja, Nude". Penn State acceded to her complaint and removed the offending object, much to the disgust of anyone with a grain of sense. The screen-saver issue—not that one wants to equate an SI photog with Goya—is much of a piece with this silliness, albeit scrren savers are a much less public matter. The point is that we find ourselves defining “harassment” as anything that makes some silly prude uncomfortable, thereby detaching the term from its reasonable meaning. People have the right to their tastes, even as lowbrow as SI swimsuit babes. Anyone who wants to decry this as tasteless is entitled to do so, but that doesn’t make it harassment, nor is it grounds for institutional intervention. Personally, I find undergrads who paint their faces and carry on like idiots at football games to be tasteless and offensive, but that’s my lookout. I’d be a damn fool to call it “harassment", but no moreso than any thin-skinned fool who applies the term to the hypothetical screen-saver.

By definition and legal precedent, harassment is behavior that targets an individual, and which would seriously interfere with a reasonable person in his or her capacity as a member of an institution. The notion that a casual glimpse of a T&A swimsuit picture on a computer screen would have that effect is nonsense on its face, and infantilizes all concerned, except the complainant, who is quite obviously already hopelessly infantile.

Fossil, at 12:30 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

Mssing the point

As a faculty member at Iowa from assistant through full professor, what amazes me is that none of this discussion — including the mandatory training I went through quite willingly — ever mentions the actual harrassment I have experienced. Two kinds: unwanted touch from senior male colleagues and inappropriately flirtatious behavior from male students (I am female). There is social, not legal, difficulty in responding to those. To senior male colleagues who would profess “innocence” and “I’m just showing that I like you,” one word about harrassment and you’re the department shrew. To the students, who like to flirt with the teacher lady in front of other students, bringing their attention to the inappropriateness of their actions (especially if the offender is well liked by the group) risks poisoning the atmosphere of the class for the rest of the semester. Effective sexual harrassment training would involve discussion of how to complain without the currently severe social consequences for doing so.

Iowa prof, at 12:30 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

In universities, administrative justice often undermines the Law. Universities even have no means to conduct proper trial: they are required only to obey the “natural justice” procedure which can exclude even questioning of witnesses by the complainer, where trials can turn into a comedy, where the administration can function as their own “independent” judges. The presumption, even when fraud is alleged, is that they are not dishonest!

Such trials are shrouded in secrecy which again is required by policy. In Canada, the names are kept secret, even if the verdict is: “guilty of fraud".

Michael Pyshnov, at 12:50 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

An “over 50″ geezer’s view

Somewhere along the line we have moved from “sexual harassment” to simple “sexual attractiveness” as being wrong. Of course, quid pro quo, whether regardless of the situation is wrong, including sexual favors (male or female). However, if someone is offended by a SI wallpaper on a computer, that person has some serious problems. I just read two columns by female writers about the Olympic swim suits. They noticed, but I didn’t think they were offended. Why do you think women wear very, very brief bikinis? I am now widowed and considering dating again. (After 45 years of marriage, I am not sure what I should do.) If I do, I am sure sexual attractiveness will be a criterion for asking, and I am also sure I will have to be attractive to whomever accepts my request. There is nothing wrong with asking. Don’t tell me I cannot look at a woman and find her sexually attractive. If she says “no” and I continually pursue her anyway, then I am crossing the line toward “harassment,” but the simple fact that someone is offended by my screen saver is ridiculous. (Incidentally, I honestly don’t understand the problem. I would not be even slightly bothered by one of my female colleagues having a “hunk” as her screen saver. What’s the big deal? Why would a female be offended by what I have on mine?)

Fred Flener, Retired, at 1:00 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

Quit your whining. Government workers outside of higher education have been going through these mandatory trainings because of some idiot’s actions for years. Welcome to the party.

aldo, at 1:00 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

That’s Right, P. Brooks...

... the way the current system is set up, faculty don’t have to know anything other than their field of speciality in order to work at an institution. They don’t even have to know how to teach, for crying out loud.

SE, at 1:00 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

A rose by any other name

To RCD and Iowa Prof I would ask: “What label do you ascribe to the 20-something in a short skirt sans underwear who sits in the front row, or to a wide variety of other provocative female-initiated behavior that you would call ‘flirtatious’ had it been initiated by a male?” Is there some out-of-level playing field here that I am missing?

Russell, at 1:00 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

Faculty as management

As both a full-time tenured faculty member and a trained mediator with experience in employment discrimination, let me make a comment on what is most necessary and neglected in trainings, which is the response of “managers” to allegations. Like it or not, faculty are generally considered to be serve as representatives of their institutions in the same way as managers in business.

Training rarely truly deters offenders, who are perfectly capable of believing that the law doesn’t apply to them or that they’re much “charming” than they are or that nobody could really take offense. But training properly done can help with another portion of the issue. An institution’s liability is far less when one can show that other potentially responsible parties were not, and could not be reasonably expected to be, informed. It’s when other faculty, etc. fail to act that the institution’s liability really increases.

A very quick form of training focusing on that portion of the issue can get one away from some of the sillier aspects of much of the training out there and mitigate what I think most faculty — including myself — resent, the feeling that somebody is so sure that we’re so dumb that we have to be told to keep our hands to ourselves.

Dan, Associate professor at University of Utah, at 1:00 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

Training on sexual harassment

It may seem heavy handed to force alll faculty to go through harassment training, but it does raise awareness. Secondly, it shows that the institution is doing what it can to prevent these unfortunate incidents.

Steve Rose, Simpson College, at 2:45 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

Aldo nails it...

Sob, sob, sob, I cry for these poor faculty and staff members, forced to endure harassment workshops. If only they had cried for the frats...and the greeks...and the white males...and the student groups composed primarily of white students...and the student groups...and ALL the freshmen students...and ALL the students...then perhaps I would seriously hear their complaints. But they did not stand for my right to be unmolested by the thought police. Let the p.c. fall where it may.

Harassed Student, at 2:45 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

Required Training

Those of us employed outside the ivory tower have participated in mandatory annual training of this sort for many years. Every employee is required to participate — from the most senior to the newest clerk. The real costs of sexual harassment are too high to ignore. Every employee should know their role in keeping the workplace safe. It’s stunning that higher education remains this hidebound.

Gwen, at 4:05 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

We’ve come a long distance since the 60’s, 70’s/ era of the promotion of “free love” hallucinogens and other nonsense from some centers of intellect. Some of what is happening on campuses as harassment was once taught to students in that era by role behavior of intellectual gurus on leading campuses, It’s not surprising that some training to “unteach” this is coming home to roost as needed damage control.

As long as employees are getting paid for their time spent in attendance in training, all employees are attending, faculty are not being singled out as more lecherous than administrators, and the training does not perpetuate myths and gender hatred, why not do such training?

The case presented, if it happened, is criminal and Miller should be prosecuted in a real court—not my a tribunal of academic vigilantes under the delusion that their campus constitutes a sovereign nation.

If the charges were trumped up, the perpetrators ought to receive prison terms and the State of Iowa made to pay enough restitution to Miller to retire a dozen university presidents. The man’s reputation is ruined before any investigation or conviction. Making a national issue of this before the latter happened was irresponsible.

Prof Ed, at 4:45 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

RE to Russell’s question about 20-something attire

In response to Russell’s question about 20-something attire, please keep in mind what your own ego might be encouraging you to see and misinterpret in the attire of a 20-year old student. You ask “What label do you ascribe to the 20-something in a short skirt sans underwear who sits in the front row, or to a wide variety of other provocative female-initiated behavior that you would call ‘flirtatious’ had it been initiated by a male?” Is there some out-of-level playing field here that I am missing?

First, the 20-something student is probably dressing based on current fashion trends, not purposely trying to attract the unwanted attention of a 50-something professor. Second, the 20-something may only be smiling at you, or thinking of you as a father, not as a possible mate.

Could it be that the ego of a 50-something professor chooses to believe that the 20-something is really interested in attracting and flirting with him?

When I was in graduate school, I dressed like most 20-somethings in the late 80s, very preppy, loose clothing, not anything sexually suggestive. And guess what? I still had a 50-something male professor who continued to give me “Ds” on my writing assignments, even though I had an undergraduate degree in English, and I knew I was write on target with the assignment. He told me that there was probably something I could do to raise my grade. Russell, my mind wasn’t even there in the gutter with his mind. I had a boyfriend and a part-time job, and I was putting myself through school. I wasn’t even thinking that this older 50-something professor was implying that he would raise my letter grade if I gave him sexual favors. However, it wasn’t until after I dropped the class, I found out that he was known for doing that to female students. It cost me $400, and I had to take the class over again with someone who wasn’t a creep, where I earned the grade I deserved, an “A.”

Russell, please don’t insult 20-something college women by implying it is THEIR dress and THEIR behavior and THEIR problem when a 50-something college professor chooses to harass them.

Been There, Got the T-shirt, at 5:50 pm EDT on August 15, 2008

“I still had a 50-something male professor who continued to give me ‘Ds’ on my writing assignments, even though I had an undergraduate degree in English, and I knew I was write on target with the assignment.”

Hmm...

Hmmm, at 7:30 am EDT on August 16, 2008

ships in the night

This has nothing to do with punishment or collective guilt and everything to do with public relations.

Iowa has had a handful of prominent sexual misconduct scandals recently that have gotten a lot of ink. The school has to do something to re-assure applicants, their parents, potential donors, and supporters in the legislature. If it does nothing, everyone at the school will pay a price down the line. So this is the necessary public gesture.

Nobody seriously thinks it will change behavior. As the comments here demonstrate, those who think that women offended by swimsuit-calendar screen-savers in the workplace are are over-reacting are unlikely to be persuaded otherwise by a mandatory lecture. But sitting through a brief, patronizing, waste-of-time seminar on sexual conduct is a relatively small price for the individual faculty members to pay to preserve the goodwill of the public and the legislature.

It’s just pragmatic politics. When state Senator X tries to cut funding to this den of iniquity, Senator Y can now cite this action as proving that even though these were isolated incidents, Iowa is working aggressively to combat any problem. So the faculty have to lose a little time listening to patronizing lectures rather than delivering them. Suck it up.

exasperated, at 4:20 pm EDT on August 16, 2008

From a sexually harassed former student

I had one older male professor who used his colleague’s grudge against me as an excuse to make all sorts of inappropriate sexual, personal, scatalogical sorts of insinuations towards me during classtime. I complained to the sexual harassment office, and he sat right next to me during the next class without ceasing the harassing comments. This sort of professor views tenure as a license to do just about whatever he wants in his fiefdom, and it would be useful if a university drew some limits that tenured professors won’t be likely to ignore.

Learissa, at 7:45 pm EDT on August 16, 2008

re: ridiculous comments

first — to Been There with his or her T-Shirt — In response to Russell’s question about 20-something attire, please keep in mind what your own ego might be encouraging you to see and misinterpret in the attire of a 20-year old student. You ask “What label do you ascribe to the 20-something in a short skirt sans underwear who sits in the front row, or to a wide variety of other provocative female-initiated behavior that you would call ‘flirtatious’ had it been initiated by a male?” Is there some out-of-level playing field here that I am missing?

First, the 20-something student is probably dressing based on current fashion trends

You missed a key pair of words in your quote: sans underwear. I’m a 23 year-old female: since when was not wearing underwear in a skirt a fashion statement other than “I need to do laundry and/or I forgot how to clothe myself” or “I’ll do anything for a better grade?”

I’ve watched my peers do this in the past. I’ve also heard two plans of action from girls who act in this manner: 1) flirt or allow certain liberties (up to and including sex) to be taken upon her person for a better grade; or 2) bring a recording device (a laptop or mobile phone will do), then do everything you can to draw out a known pervy prof and blackmail for a better grade or scream bloody murder for petty vengeance.

That said, I’m none too fond of old married men staring at my most obvious assets (which are, sadly, difficult to hide in even the baggiest of clothing), hinting at. . . something, or being surreptitiously groped in a crowded hallway.

But why ask for more “awareness” of sexual harassment? I doubt that anyone, following the Clarence Thomas confirmation, the Coflin suicide in 1995, or any number of other highly publicized cases of sexual harassment, is “unaware” that (from the article) grabbing and sucking on a student’s breast, then e-mailing her with the good news of her A+ is at the very least sexual harassment. More “Awareness training” won’t fix this. Pepper spray will.

That said, the lowliest of grocery baggers must undergo yearly sexual harassment training. You can bet that nonacademic employees of the university must do so as well. Why not professors? CYA is the safest policy in a litigious society, and arguing against it isn’t “taking a stand,” it’s being foolish.

Christine, grad student at NC State University, at 6:30 am EDT on August 17, 2008

As indicated by a couple of the commentators, the money motive may have been the main motive for the Iowa President to indicate that sexual harassment training may be necessary for all Iowa faculty. Reduce university liability from lawsuits by training faculty. No matter that there is not an iota of evidence that such training ever has any degree of effectiveness.

Where the money factor also comes into play relates to the dollars expended for such training by the University and the money made by those providing the training. In fact many times those advocating mandatory sexual harassment training are likely to monetarily profit from said training. For example, in the present article both Kathy Hagedorn, President of the Hagedorn Institute and Anne Franke, President of Wise Results are cited for their insights on this issue, but it should also be indicated that they are likely beneficiaries of the widespread implementation of sexual harassment training.

dankprofessor, at 5:00 am EDT on August 18, 2008

Keep an open mind, please.

Some of the comments in this discussion show a side of faculty or their supporters that make them seem as arrogant, self-involved and removed from a sense of social reality.

As pointed out be others, what puts the academic workers over and above the rest of society? Now that the sexes are far more mixed in the workplace and all institutions, including universities, finally we recognize that some safeguards need to be put in place for legal and ethical reasons. This would have been unheard of when women simply tolerated various kinds of harassment for keeping their jobs.

Another argument keeps coming up that behavior will not change simply because ‘nonsense’ training sessions are mandatory and which put people on the defensive. Let the supposedly educated folks wake up and keep an open mind to what the possibilities are.

The expertise in this area of training keeps growing as it adapts to the changing environment. The workshop I attended was run by a highly knowledgeable Ph. D. who showed great sympathy for all viewpoints. What is the harm in getting to know perspectives that may be foreign to your way of thinking?

If the colleges and universities institute the program to avoid financial liability, why is that inherently wrong? This is one issue where their interests and those of students and faculty come together. And if the businesses that run these training sessions earn money by doing so, why is that any different from other services provided? There are so many trendy developments in higher education such as various new mandates to use different learning styles, ‘student-centered learning’ and ‘serving’ the millennial students, a whole cottage (or maybe not so cottage) industry is thriving, adding to the cost of college education. Let us choose our battles judiciously.

Dismal scientist, at 11:15 am EDT on August 18, 2008

Isn’t knowledge good?

Every year when I teach my gender course, I offer extra office hours the week we talk about sexual harassment because students come to me with lots of questions and usually at least one tells me about an instance of being a victim of harassment. The idea that gaining knowledge is “punishment” is a stunning idea coming from people within academe. We need to do better and required faculty workshops would help. I, for one, would welcome them. They would make my job easier and life better for my students.

S. Ostrander, Professor, at 12:00 pm EDT on August 18, 2008

Time To Read Dan Ariely’s Book

1. I believe that while sexual harassment works both way, it is essentially unbalanced, with most harassment perpetrated by men against women.

2. I think sexual harassment is a serious problem in America, including in our educational environs (~ 4th grade – Ph.D.). While it is a problem for the women who are the objects of the harassment, it affects the integrity of society as a whole.

3. I think it is a mistake for us to discuss this particular incident in the context of Art Miller’s guilt ... at least until we know he’s guilty.

4. I have read all of the posts to this article – some thoughtful, some not – but I especially appreciate Jonathan Cohen’s ...

“Awareness of the rules is not the problem in this case”

and Assistant Professor of Physics’ ...

“So, in summary, whether or not training is needed depends on factors far beyond this one very obvious case, and also depends on whether or not the training will be effective. If the training is not effective, then the only benefit is that some administrative asses were covered. If the training is effective, then the benefits to the campus may be substantial.”

5. For most of the eight years I spent participating in intercollegiate and semi-pro athletics (pre Title IX), I lived in a very sexist environment ... and despite all of that baloney about the wonderful character-building consequences of sports. In any event – and cleaning it up a bit – there I heard innumerable times, “An erect penis has no conscience.”

If you’d like to know more about that, read Chapter 5 (The Influence of Arousal) of Dan Ariely’s “Predictably Irrational” ...

http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=006135323X

where you will see the wisdom of my crude remark. Based on his ever clever small experiments, Ariely demonstrates that one’s sexual rationale (i.e., the thought processes that drive behavior) while receiving sexual harassment training in a lecture hall or on-line is pretty damned far from the thinking that apparently overwhelms some of us when, in the classroom, we imagine ourselves as the all-powerful, Mr. Magnificent, the sexual object of every young co-ed who signs up for our courses.

6. My Point? If the training we’re talking about here is the same ol’, same ol’ ... “Here are the rules, here are the consequences, any questions?”, then those who are objecting to the training have a point. But if we’re going to broaden these training programs to include what we know and are learning about those human characteristics that are highly correlated with both sexual harassment and abuse of authority, then it’s another matter altogether.

Frizbane Manley, at 12:10 pm EDT on August 18, 2008

what is the big deal?

What is the big deal about a little harassment training? I’ve had to do it in every non-academic job I’ve ever had. Also, I has awareness training as a grad student prior to TAing. My previous workplaces and University were probably just reducing their own liability, but a little training is very helpful when bringing together people from different cultures into the same workplace, just to make sure everyone starts with the same expectations.

As for sexual/other forms of harassment: part of the definition is that the harasser is in a power position over the victim. This came up in TA training—what if a student is harassing me? At that point, the instructors made it clear that while that behavior is unacceptable at the University, it is not legally harassment, so the reporting process is different. This is great info to know, since it meant all TAs were informed as to the available and appropriate channels for help.

As for SI screen savers—whether it is harassment or not depends on the response to requests for a change. If someone complaning, and you blow them off and continue to make them uncomfortable, that is a problem. Why should a person have to look at your sexual material everyday? As a human being if you are making someone else uncomfortable in the workplace, wouldn’t you make an easy change to help them out?

This is really long, but I remember 2 distinct issues that were resolved well WITHOUT lawsuits. In the first, my supervisor (a professor) made off color jokes that made me uncomfortable on a regular basis. Even though it was awkward, I asked that he stop since I was uncomfortable. He apologized because he didn’t realize it was a problem and never did it again in my presence.

In the other incident (outside academia) a women dressed in low cut shirts and very tight skirts/pants in my workplace. A male colleague was very uncomfortable, spoke to HR, and HR explained to the woman that her dress was making someone else uncomfortable. She changed that way she dressed after a meeting with HR, no legal problems for anyone. Isn’t that the way the world should work? Both of these incidents came about because people had the proper training to deal with these incidents in the workplace BEFORE it became a major problem.

JaneDoh, at 12:55 pm EDT on August 18, 2008

Oh, good grief. Everybody everywhere has to do harassment classes. Why should these faculty members be spared?

It’s a small amount of time that does a great deal of good. Often people don’t realize how simple things can be misconstrued.

We do this training every year at my university, and the time spent is minimal.

Jodi, OUHSC, at 1:40 pm EDT on August 18, 2008

Following Frisbane....

As someone who agrees that Sexual Harassment problems are endemic in the Academy and a topic worthy of redress, I don’t understand how any thinking person could conclude that yet one more powerpoint exposure canvassing the rules & consequences will translate into a safer or harassment-free environment. (By way of comparison, does the obligatory power-point training and quiz system run by most IRBs translate into safer human subjects? Me-thinks-not... but this is an easy...if irritating... way for the institution to show that it’s doing something).

The trainings on this topic that I’ve attended have been bureaucratized and over-simplified to the point of absurdity. If the subject matter were taken seriously by the training I wouldn’t complain, but as it is, there are better ways for me to spend my time.

Cowardly Lurker, at 2:30 pm EDT on August 18, 2008

How Sad

I would call this a very sad ending to a very sad story, but I assume there are so many questions, it will be some time before the facts of this matter are known.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps...=/20080822/NEWS/27671323/0/FRONTPAGE

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps...ID=/20080825/NEWS/27671074/1001/NEWS

Frizbane Manley, at 12:50 pm EDT on August 25, 2008

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