Dealing With Jerks on Campus

I read this book a few years ago, and I’m thinking I need to read it again. The “cesspools of abusive, disrespectful behavior” seem to be all too common in higher ed, and they are not easy to get through. . . . especially when there seems to be no real reason for those cesspools to exist. I do believe, though, that assholes behave as they do because they can. No one steps up to stop them. We don’t want to say anything to them or about them because that might be considered “unprofessional.” I wonder– for those of us in the humanities– where did humanity go?

A universal subject: we all have an asshole.

That’s true! As with most things, the manner in which you do so matters greatly. Stalking out as a power ploy, for example, seems right out.

I believe that bullies should be confronted at meetings and other venues. I like the “have you no shame” type of approach because it will make the bully think. The problem is with a multitude of bullies cascade down upon you and your ideas, proposals and work. I as an nontenured person walked out of a meeting where that happened to me. No repercussions yet but I am waiting. I believe karma works even in academe. Somewhere down the line they will get theirs and I hope I am around to see it.

I just had a situation where a student decided to be confrontational in the middle of a class lecture. I almost walked out, but decided at the last minute that I would lose ground if I did. Instead, I calmed myself and moved on with the lecture. The student later apologized and many of the other students approached me with compliments on my control, patience, and firmness. It was VERY “not fun” though……I will definitely read this book….I’m betting I can get tips to keep this sort of thing from happening again. Thanks for the review!

This recommendation could not come at a better time, and I’m going to read this book. I will submit, however, that sometimes “walk out” does and will have to mean leaving your job. Faculty (even those still on the tenure track) are insulated from these things in ways that administrators are not; let me remind people that high-ranking administrators are typically tenured faculty, while lower-ranking administrators (and non-tenure-track faculty) are not. That means that, all the blather about HR, and procedures, and grievances, notwithstanding, if the person causing you so much misery is tenured and you aren’t (and especially if it’s your immediate supervisor), stick a fork in you, you’re done.

Most people – especially now – cannot just up and leave a job, or risk being fired. And so they stay. and the downward spiral continues.

Careful, relentless, unemotional, corroborated, long-term documentation of the asshole’s behavior will eventually get him/her ejected from his/her administrative post. Victims must be patient and understand it may take a long time. Victims have to cooperate with each other to make it happen.

Thanks, Jason. I just ordered the book from the A.com place. Thanks above all for the great article.

Or we could be quite laughably literal-minded ourselves and assume the joke did not include the meta-level of dealing with a**holes. I had originally taken it as a double edge – assuming it does not seems to smack of a**hattery particularly when used as an excuse to mock undergraduates.

Avoid a war of escalation. That’s always been my strategy. I find that faculty colleagues who act like jerks at one faculty meeting will be cordial later. I just let it roll off me.

Students are a different matter. I never act like “their buddy in the classroom,” and I demand a certain decorum and distance. I’m cordial and never get angry, however, in class or out of it.

Tip to deal with an overwhelming jerk who speaks rapidly: slow down your own voice, just a little. This conflict-resolution technique has really de-escalated trouble for me over the phone and in my office.

My campus was not jerk free. Within a few weeks of becoming department head, I realized a person who had for years been a decent colleague (a tenured, full professor) had a hair-trigger temper which intimidated not only many students but also insulted staff and faculty in our department and around the campus.

When students brought complaints to me, and I suggested they discuss the issue directly with the “jerk,” I was told–frequently–that they feared to do so. As another member of our department (who had also been on the receiving end) told me: “[The teacher] is a bully.” During my first few years as the department head I received more complaints about the “jerk” than about all the other full and part-time faculty members combined.

Sutton’s description of a “jerk” as quoted in Jones’ article is–in this case–all-too-accurate, especially the part about “never making mistakes or being wrong.” Sadly, I received little guidance from my superiors. There seemed to be no procedure or policy established to address “jerk” behavior. I realized I was pretty much on my own. I tiptoed around for several years before just confronting the “jerk.” At the time, this was like throwing kerosene on the fire–more temper explosions, blaming others and me, etc. It was draining. I often wondered how such behavior would be handled in many another line of work, especially a profession without tenure.

And then the student complaints stopped. I’ll never know exactly what happened–did the professor “hear” me and begin to reconsider reasoning, word choices, tone-of-voice? Did the professor begin to own some of the blame? Maybe. As another colleague suggested, “Maybe the meds kicked in.”

Since then, we have even had some pleasant and professional exchanges. However, I will generally keep my distance and never be able to approach the “jerk” without being wary.

Well, sometimes. But I’ve also met a few students who were dropped on their heads as infants and never recovered. I do agree that being older or having more formal education does not guarantee one is immune from being a jerk.

Wait a minute. “Dealing with *jerks* on campus?” (My emphasis.)

CHE, you chickens! :)

I agree that airport lit, like most airline food, is usually about as nutritious as chewing gum, but there are exceptions. Several years ago, I found myself unexpectedly diverted to the Portland (OR) airport. Faced with a long layover, my distress turned to delight when I discovered that the bookstore is actually a branch of Powell’s, by no means your average airport bookstore, everyone would agree. I spent hours happily perusing the shelves and managed to pick up an enchanting novel by Portuguese Nobel laureate Jose Saramago off the discount table! So if an airport bookstore is your last resort, Portland’s the place.

This is very interesting. Can students save their copy protected e-text books in LifeTime Library?
Will anyone from your team be attending Educause in Philadelphia next month?