Dear Jim, Some steps to consider checking out and hopefully others will jump in with additional helpful suggestions or thoughts.
1. Do you have some sort of faculty handbook that includes the steps outlined for a student grievance as well as a faculty grievance against a student? Check it out and see what avenues are available according to university policy. Chances are no one will inform you of what your wife's rights are, and thus you will need to find this information out for yourself. Someone within your faculty senate/council/etc. should have this information. Barring this, check with AAUP. Do you have a union? They can also be helpful. 2. Check to see what kinds of malpractice insurance policies are in place for faculty through the university. I know at my university, we are each provided with two policies but they never advertise that fact. This may include help with legal assistance. 3. Know that part of the reason that they are advocating so vigorously for the student is because they are afraid of a lawsuit. Also know that they are just as afraid of a lawsuit from an employee. Learn your rights and the resources available to you and use them or take legal action against the university if necessary (obviously a last step). This is particularly important if their actions are putting you and your family at risk. 4. File a restraining order if the student is threatening. The courts will not grant a restraining order for "retaliation." This legitimizes your claim of harassment and also serves to provide a bit of protection for you and your family. 5. Make sure that your legal case regarding the student includes the potential for reimbursement of legal fees from the student if the claim is found to be spurious. Make sure the student is aware that this is a possibility. Reimbursement of legal fees can occur either as part of any legal case the student may institute against you or later as a civil action. 6. Because of the dual relationship that has now been established between your wife and the student (a. litigants in a dispute and b. thesis advisor/student), your wife should "resign" as the student's thesis advisor. Look to her professional organizations code of ethics (if one exists as it does for psychology) for an appropriate citation to include with the letter to the student and the university. This removes your wife from the situation by making it a professionally mandated action. 7. Reassure your wife (which I am sure you have) that while it is understandable that she is upset, she has no reason to feel embarrassed. Unfortunately, too many of us tend to feel embarrassed or even ashamed when we are being victimized and this only further saps our ability to evaluate and handle situations effectively. Best wishes, Linda -- Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D. Book Review Editor, H-Genocide Associate Professor - Psychology Coordinator - Holocaust & Genocide Studies, Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Webster University 470 East Lockwood St. Louis, MO 63119 Main Webpage: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/ mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "James D.Dougan" wrote: > > TIPsters, > > I am hoping that someone out there might have some advice regarding a very > sticky and ugly university-related legal issue. Below is a summary of the > relevant details. For the record, I am writing this on behalf of my wife - > she is too embarrassed and too upset to do anything at the moment. > > My wife is a tenured and award winning professor at a local state > university. In fact, she was just awarded the university's highest > teaching award. This is just to establish that we are not talking about > someone with a spotty record. > > As part of her research, my wife collects data on animal behavior at a > local zoo. Both undergraduate and graduate students assist her. One of > the graduate students was eventually hired by the zoo as an employee - > while still remaining in graduate school. Recently, that student filed > sexual harassment charges against an employee at the zoo. As far as we > know, the charges were dismissed as groundless (though to be honest we > don't know the details because we were not involved). Note that my wife > had absolutely no administrative relationship with the zoo and absolutely > no control - supervisory or otherwise - over the student as an employee at > the zoo. The zoo is simply a place where she and her students collect > data, and a place where the student in question had become an employee. > > At around the same time, my wife was getting increasingly frustrated with > the graduate student's progress in the program. One problem is that the > student has never written a thesis proposal - even though some of the data > collected at the zoo were initially intended for inclusion in a thesis. My > wife informed the student that she was not to collect any more data at the > zoo until she completed her proposal. As soon as the proposal is written > and approved, the student can resume data collection. If my wife has done > anything wrong, it was to allow any data to be collected before the > proposal is written. As it is, she has simply informed the student that > she has to write the proposal before continuing. > > The student became very angry at this. She has now filed formal charges > against my wife with the affirmative action office on campus. The > charge? That my wife was "retaliating" against the student for filing > sexual harassment charges against he employee at the zoo. > > There are many many many reasons why these charges are simply absurd. Two > stand out, though: > > 1) How can my wife be retaliating when she has no relationship with the > person actually charged? Apparently, this is "retaliation by proxy" - that > is, my wife is apparently retaliating on behalf of someone else. > > 2) How is it retaliation to require a student to write a thesis proposal - > something which is required for all thesis students? > > A couple of other relevant facts: > > -- The student has a history of personal issues and previous interpersonal > problems > > -- The student has refused mediation, insisting on filing formal charges > without first going that step > > -- The student has told people "I am going to take her down..." and made > other threatening statements. > > That's the jist of it. There are lots of other details, but that is most > of it. > > Here is the problem: The University is taking the charges seriously and > proceeding with an investigation. Further, they apparently think that > their role is to advocate for the student, and that they have no > requirement to support the faculty member. We have also been told that > anything we do against the student - such as filing a restraining order > after the student has made threats - would be considered further > retaliation. It seems that my wife is being asked to prove herself > innocent- that she is assumed to be guilty before things even begin. > > We have had to hire an attorney at our own expense - and the attorney says > this could get pretty costly. > > I like to believe in the system enough to think that this will eventually > be resolved - that the charges will be recognized as absurd. I would like > to think that would have occurred already. But, nothing will apparently be > resolved until we have spent a lot of money and gone through a lot of > stress. In the mean time we really feel like our family is potentially in > danger. > > So - does ANYONE have any advice? How do you defend yourself against such > charges? > > Thanks in advance.... > > -- Jim Dougan > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
