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[sinatra]

Here's a problem I have been wrestling with for about one month now. I have information based on personal experience that a colleague is guilty of discrimination. The discrimination is ongoing and may ultimately hurt my university, opening us to lawsuits. My colleague's supervisor is content to look the other way. To be fair, this person is adept at covering hu's tracks, couching the discrimination in evaluative settings (e.g., "This person does not do enough x," rather than "This person is a polka-dotted y"). At the same time, I suspect that, if I come forward with my experience, my credibility will be attacked by this person's supporters. I would try to report the situation anonymously, but we have no such mechanism at my university. The only other place to turn is one of the bigwigs at the university. Obviously, with discrimination, everyone loses. But at what point do the needs of the many outweigh the concerns of the one?

[conjugate]

Are you untenured?  See nothing, say nothing.  If you're tenured, and willing to put up with a long, draining, ugly fight that will leave everyone involved feeling embittered, angry, wronged and vengeful, then it might be worth it.

[zharkov]

Do the victims know what is going on?  Could you clue them in?

[mended_drum]

Is your "information based on personal experience" documented?  That is, can you provide statistical evidence of a pattern of discrimination by this individual?  If not, can you provide statistical evidence that something is "off" in your department, program or university?  If you can, I think that you are obligated to pass that information along.  If not, all you can do is attempt to gather data, quietly warn students or faculty who might be vulnerable to your colleague, and eventually put yourself in a position to ameliorate his or her influence.

[jacaranda_]

It sounds like you are not a really young faculty member, but I have to say, I'm honestly a little surprised that you have not encountered behavior like this before with colleagues.  I have taught in a few different departments and can think of several senior people who engaged in bigoted or discriminatory behavior, and in ways similar to what you describe here:  not open or brazen, covering their tracks, using euphemistic language.  In one department, a job candidate was excluded from consideration on the basis of being a racial minority because it was assumed that s/he would be so competitive, that s/he would never consider taking a job at that small college.  The profession is a little too self-congratulatory about how open and diverse we are, IMO.

Like others above, I would be very wary of trying to report or take on such a case unless you have a mountain of evidence, even though what he or she is doing is offensive and deplorable.  As others suggest above, the repercussions for you and your colleagues could be long-lasting and very damaging.  I'm not saying you should let this problem go because the behavior is not that uncommon or because the costs to collegiality will be too high.  But if you have the energy and commitment to work on improving the learning conditions and opportunities for underrepresented students, you may find it more satisfactory in the long run to channel that energy into positive engagement with what your college or university is already doing in this area.

[dogvomit]

I am not defending anyone here.  But maybe the better question is if a bigot should be removed!  How many great thinkers were womanizers, bigots, and general a**h*les?  A LOT.  Also, how often do we learn better from bad examples than from good?  I recall a rotten professor at one school I attended.  I learned more from him than all the good examples.  I learned why all the good examples were actually good examples!  He did almost everything poorly, teaching to research!  It was remarkable!  Without his unintentional example of how to be a rotten professor, I would probably be a much poorer one.  So, my only point is that although the person's personal views may be as evil as satan, in an academic setting those opposing views are protected and should be.  On the other hand, if the professor is partaking in behaviors that inhibit others from exercising their liberties, then that is another question.  Then we aren't simply discussing a bigot, but rather a racist/sexist etc.  I recall being exposed to a lot of religious bigotry in the south, some of these folks were actually the equivalent of a racist or sexist only targeting religion.  If there is a term for this, I let me know!  Some actually promoted people from their church while demolishing the reputation of those that belonged to different churches.  The beliefs of the two sides were as different as are those between a racist and a non-racist.  Again, I am not defending these folks views, only the fact that if you eliminate faculty for bigotry, next it will be swearing, then it will be how you dress, wear your hair, or even what car you drive.  This is how freedoms are lost to groups of people.   Remember "give me liberty or give me death."  There is a very good reason this saying has remained a part of contemporary knowledge.  Even the poorly educated, and I suspect even the unintelligent know it, understand it, and even use it.  Liberty is not restricted to what I believe is right, what the bigot believes is right, or anyone else.  It is for everyone!  Unfortunately, this means that I may hear or be subjected to views that are classically outside of mine.  This is good, for without these exercises of getting pissed off at bigotry, none of us would put together responses that put bigotry back in its place.

The entire essence of outing a professor for bigotry hits right at freedom of speech.  At what point do you want to limit freedom of speech, thought, and general academic freedom?  better to make a fool out of the person for being a bigot than to eliminate the contributions they are likely making to their field.  Everyone has their bad side and their good side.  Everyone has a contribution to make.   THink about it.  If we eliminated every bigot from the world, I doubt any of us would be standing.  Every single solitary person is bigoted about something.  Unfortunately, most people are so high and mighty about pointing out other's bigotry, that they don't look closely enough at their own.  

[dogvomit]

It sounds like you are not a really young faculty member, but I have to say, I'm honestly a little surprised that you have not encountered behavior like this before with colleagues.  I have taught in a few different departments and can think of several senior people who engaged in bigoted or discriminatory behavior, and in ways similar to what you describe here:  not open or brazen, covering their tracks, using euphemistic language.  In one department, a job candidate was excluded from consideration on the basis of being a racial minority because it was assumed that s/he would be so competitive, that s/he would never consider taking a job at that small college.  The profession is a little too self-congratulatory about how open and diverse we are, IMO.

Like others above, I would be very wary of trying to report or take on such a case unless you have a mountain of evidence, even though what he or she is doing is offensive and deplorable.  As others suggest above, the repercussions for you and your colleagues could be long-lasting and very damaging.  I'm not saying you should let this problem go because the behavior is not that uncommon or because the costs to collegiality will be too high.  But if you have the energy and commitment to work on improving the learning conditions and opportunities for underrepresented students, you may find it more satisfactory in the long run to channel that energy into positive engagement with what your college or university is already doing in this area.

I have seen this too, and the opposite approach where a special group was wanted by the admin.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

If someone is truly a bigot, outing that person is simply not necessary. It will happen eventually. Maybe not in good time, but it will happen.

[scheherazade]

It sounds as if you have been the target of this person's bigotry.  If so, I ask you to think how well you will be treated if you expose him/her.  Don't assume that the higher-ups don't know about this person already.  You will be putting yourself in a really vulnerable position.

It pains me to chime with the STFU, because by nature I'm one to call out people who keep quiet on important issues such as these.  But the simple fact is that you cannot effect change well from a powerless position, and even less so if you are terminated.  If you stay quiet until you have tenure and continue to privately document, you will be in a better position to actually force some sort of change later, with the protection of tenure.

EDIT: This is assuming you do not have tenure, of course.  You haven't specified.  If you do have tenure, the situation changes significantly.  But do have a significant amount of documentation before you address the issue in any case.

[sinatra]

Thanks to all of you for the replies. To answer a few people's questions, I am tenured. And this is not the first time that I have been exposed to discrimination. It's just the first time that I am in a position to do anything about it. I need to be careful not to give away too much info so as not to out myself. But my experience with most people is the occasional "Polish" joke--whether dealing with Polish people or not--or a slip of the tongue, using a not-quite-so-politically-correct term to refer to a racial or ethnic group. This is not the situation I am referencing. What I am talking about comes close to a "hostile environment." I like the suggestion that I work positively to help create a more positive climate, and if truth be told, that's what I have been doing. I just wondered if I have an obligation to come forward with the anecdotal evidence I have about the situation, given the "hostile environment" this person is engendering, or if it is better to continue working positively toward undermining that toxicity. I see from the responses here that it is better I continue my efforts at the latter.

[larryc]

This is all too vague to offer advice. Is the bigot practicing discriminatory hiring, or grading, or ... ? Is it against you or someone else? If someone else, do the victims know? Have there been charges against the bigot? Do people whisper about the bigotry or are you the only one who knows?

[maybe]

 So, my only point is that although the person's personal views may be as evil as satan, in an academic setting those opposing views are protected and should be.  

Again, the situation described is vague, but if the discrimination is targeted against someone because of their protected status, then this is not a academic freedom issue; it's a violation of federal law. 

You're tenured.  If you have real proof, real reason to believe that someone is being punished because of a protected status, sounds to me like you have the ethical obligation to speak up for the one person who is being punished.  But if you out the bigot then you have to have real and I think indisputable evidence. 

Is this something you can contact the EEOC about?  This would prevent you from having to publicly confront anyone? 

Does the person being discriminated against know what you know?  Can you tell him/her?   

Tread carefully, to be sure.  But if you have hard proof, whatever that may mean in your case, then move this forward.       

[takapa]

Maybe I'm focusing on a phrase too much, but you said it was something that "comes close to a hostile environment" I had a reaction.  If something "comes close" then its "not" in my mind.  So, if it only comes close I'd say just tow the current line, be a good example, and not do much of anything.  I wouldn't want to get pulled over for almost going over the speed limit. 

You also have to be careful whether the person is covering their tracks or not.  Maybe they border on a behavior (again, just "coming close" to bigotry) and what looks like covering one's tracks is just normal behavior that isn't covering anything.  It's tricky.  By saying that someone is a bigot in a comes close way is getting inside that person's head and deciding we know what they think and feel and what their motives are without really knowing.

And of course your credibility will be attacked - the person and their supporters will defend themselves whether the individual is a bigot or not.  After all, by saying something you are attacking their credibility, threatening their work, their livelihood, their family, their reputation....

Regardless of anything else, before I did anything, I would have to make sure something was indeed discriminatory and not coming close to it.  I would also have to be sure in my heart of hearts that this bigotry was true and whatever behaviors were exhibited were coming from a mindset of bigotry.  If not, I could ruin someone's reputation, damage their career, and make a mess on a hunch.

[prytania3]

Unless you have documented all the incidents of bigotry--names, dates, and narratives, it is really a moot point. If you go to a higher up, and claim someone is a bigot, you basically sound like a jerk. Substitute the word "witch" for "bigot." If you go with all your documentation, they may still view you as a witch hunter, but at least they'll have something to think about.

[losemygrip]

You can take this to your university diversity officer assuming you have someone in that or a similar position.  You can give them whatever info you have and they can decide whether it's against university policies or the law, and if it's worthwhile taking action.  Those discussion should be confidential; no one ever need know you went.