Quoted: Faculty Harassment

[NotAProgDirector]

An older female professor of mine is frequently rude and inappropriate with students outside of class. On occasions, she follows students outside of class, asks where they were going and then checks to make sure they indeed go were they say. In another instance, after reprimanding a student, the student excused herself to the bathroom and burst into tears. The professor followed her into the bathroom and told her to stop crying because she was making it look bad. I can think of 5 or 10 similar instances.

It's to the point that most students are afraid of her, as are some faculty. They are aware of the situation, but she has been with the program for a long time. I avoid her at all costs as she has singled me out for several things this semester. I would like to make a complaint, but was unable to find the appropriate place and am nervous about anonymity. Also, I'm not sure how to qualify this, if it is harassment or not.

What would be the appropriate course of action in this situation? Thanks for any advice.

I doubt there is a "one size fits all" answer. What to do about this depends on your institution, and how much trouble you're willing to deal with. Most schools should have some sort of anonymous reporting system -- it might be via HR, or an ombudsperson, or via the Dean of Students, etc. Some programs might have all of these.

There are two possible outcomes:

1) the institution was aware of the problem and was waiting for someone to complain. They intervene, remove her from the program. You are a hero.

2) She's well connected and deflects blame. The argument is made that the complaint is from a student who is doing poorly and trying to create an "issue" to deflect from their poor performance. No one has complained in the past (due to fear of retribution) and hence your complaint is a "first offense" and is not taken seriously.

In the second scenario, the problem is that it won't stay anonymous for long. If you put enough details in the complaint it will be clear either 1) whom wrote the complaint, or 2) who is discussed in the complaint. For example, if you describe the incident above and it wasn't you crying in the bathroom, it will be clear to the faculty member involved which student WAS crying in the bathroom and may retaliate against them. This would leave you in the tough position of either admitting that you were the one whom complained or allowing your colleague to be the focus of her anger. If the faculty member is smart, they will change tactics to getting the person to fail out though "legal" means.

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[Retro Virus]

OP, if you have a mentor or advisor within the faculty, or have otherwise established a good reputation and rapport with some senior member of the institution, they may be a helpful resource to enlist in dealing with this situation. They will know their institution better than you do as a medical student, and may be able to warn you away from complaining about a problem faculty member who is well-entrenched in the program. Alternately, if they think pursuing a complaint is worthwhile, I suspect it's more likely to result in action taken and less likely to result in retaliation against you if you have a senior faculty member or program director intervening on your behalf.

 

[peppy]

Maybe carry a pocket size tape recorder with you anytime you're around her and hope that you can catch her in the act? That would make it more than just a your word against hers situation at least.

 

[Goro]

Maybe carry a pocket size tape recorder with you anytime you're around her and hope that you can catch her in the act? That would make it more than just a your word against hers situation at least.

NOT a good idea! many states have laws against taping someone against their will. A faculty member like this is bond to have made enemies, and the more complaints lodged against her, the more likely that the university can sanction her for her actions. Her behavior is highly unprofessional, and WOULD be construed as harrasment at my institution.

You will need to get as many students on board with this as possible, and if a complaint to a dep't Chair doesn't work, then go to the Dean. If that doesn' work, go up the chain of command to the President, Provost or Chancellor.

Remember, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men and women to remain silent.

 

[IlDestriero]

Make an appointment with the dean of student affairs. We had a senior faculty go off the reservation one day, blaming us, literally red faced screaming at the entire class, for not studying and a drop in the average grade of 10 points. Some people brought up a few "bad questions". He also said, for this one test only, that he would go over these "bad" questions one on one, but if we were wrong and wasted his time he would deduct 2 more points. WTF, a-hole? Who do you think you are? This ain't kindergarten. The class is full of overachieving overachievers. About 10 students went to see the dean of student affairs later that day. Nice open door policy, and a great all around guy. Another group emailed the dean asking for an appointment. By the time we met again the next week, everything had changed. He apologized and reviewed the test himself over the weekend. He voided 3 questions and corrected a wrong answer on the auto grader. I think most grades went up 2-3 points. He also acknowledged that the majority of the wrong answers were from 2-3 lectures from a new, and WEAK, faculty. He scheduled a review lecture to recover that material himself.
Total 180 and reality check courtesy of the Dean of Student Affairs.
That's the way to go. The dean wants you to learn and do well. Bad faculty need to be "adjusted". That's his job.

 

[dragonfly99]

If you complain, think about the possible repercussions (for you). Most schools want their students to act happy and don't necessarily want to deal with problematic faculty members, unless they are doing something egregious like sexual harassment. If you plan to complain, I would do so as a group with other students and definitely not alone. I would not assume that such complaint(s) will remain anonymous because often the person being complained against could/can figure out who did it. There are some good suggestions above, though (particularly the one about talking with another faculty member with whom you have a good relationship to get his/her perspective - make sure you can trust this person, though).

My general rule in these situations is to pick your battles...it's kind of part of being a trainee.