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[al_wallace]

You clearly are not overreacting and professor creepy is well over the line. I'm sorry you have to endure this and have nothing really to add except to avoid him one-on-one if at all possible. If you do need help on assignments, bring a friend. I'm at a college where one-on-one interactions with students are extremely common but those interactions aren't like the one you described.

[spork]

Can you unobtrusively wire a webcam to your shirt, to broadcast his leers at your cleavage to the public at large?

I know you feel like you're in a powerless situation, but that's his goal.

[anthroid]

This happened to me as an undergrad, though it was with a visiting professor who worked on some very cool stuff.  He kept calling me at home, asking me out for drinks.  I finally told my dad, who called my first-year advisor (I was a senior by then but that was the only person my dad could remember having met!).  My first-year advisor took care of it, apparently, by reaming visiting professor out.

I like all of the suggestions above.  Also, does your campus have a women's studies program, a women's center, or a multi-cultural affairs center?  Those folks often will act as advocates in situations like this.  You are being harassed, you have done nothing to deserve it, and if you came to me I would tear this guy a new orifice slowly and painfully.  You do not have to put with this and you should not have to stay an extra year because of this jackass.

[msmicrobe]

I'm surprised that a chronicle member would suggest "dressing down" to deal with the situation

You misunderstand what I am saying and why. Styles today are form fitting in many cases. That doesn't make it wrong to wear those styles. But I'd loathe having Creepy's eyes on me trying to get a peek at anything. What might make me feel great, confident, and feminine in any other circumstance would likely make me feel more vulnerable in Creepy's class. To avoid the feel of his eyes on me, I'd want to cover up a bit more. A sweater, a baggy sweatshirt, etc. for MY sake.

OP can continue to wear whatever she wants. She is the victim. But she's also in a miserable situation where Creepy has a lot more power. So part of coping now is documenting, and part of it is surviving. She still has to go to his class and have him around. More layers of fabric can be a virtual shield for her to stand behind while she pursues her case in official channels. I don't see how a coping mechanism to get through is the same as blaming the victim.

[kedves]

The suggestions to go to the Equal Opportunity office or women's center are very good.  

Don't go to his office, even if he tells you that you must.  You have some control of the situation, more than, for example, his TA might have, because you have no reason not to leave the scene.  Frown, say, "That's inappropriate" or say nothing, and leave.  He is counting on your being polite.  Don't be polite.  (It is freeing.)

I'm sorry you are dealing with this.  It's so old-fashioned, and not in a good way.  There was a tenured professor like this in my grad university who had been moved into administration to keep him away from students.

[inthelab]

Summary of great advice from above (with a little bit of mine thrown in for consideration):

1) Document everything.
2) Do not see Prof Creepy alone!  If you can get a football player or other large male to go with you, the better.  Say, "This is my good friend Hank; the appointment was on our way to {insert event here.}"
3) Tell campus cops, your advisor, counseling, ombudsperson.
4) Does the grapevine say this is on-going behavior for Prof Creepy?  If yes, an appointment with Creep's chair plus your advisor might be in order.
5) Might be worthwhile to send copies of documentation to your family's attorney, if only to be able to say if needed that "matters are now in a lawyer's hands."  Call it "grade-protection."

[jackit]

I think what larryc said would be very effective:  just call him on his behavior.  He will not retaliate.  He will be much more concerned about you making trouble for him than vice versa.

I also agree with Grassy's suggestion to write a letter after you're gone.

[tee_bee]

Summary of great advice from above (with a little bit of mine thrown in for consideration):

1) Document everything.
2) Do not see Prof Creepy alone!  If you can get a football player or other large male to go with you, the better.  Say, "This is my good friend Hank; the appointment was on our way to {insert event here.}"
3) Tell campus cops, your advisor, counseling, ombudsperson.
4) Does the grapevine say this is on-going behavior for Prof Creepy?  If yes, an appointment with Creep's chair plus your advisor might be in order.
5) Might be worthwhile to send copies of documentation to your family's attorney, if only to be able to say if needed that "matters are now in a lawyer's hands."  Call it "grade-protection."

6) Know that you have already been sexually harassed.

He doesn't have to touch you--the leering, suggestive comments, "finding" you in the coffee shop, etc., are all part of the definition of harassment. (Indeed, as a male, tenured, endowed, full professor, I can't even imagine saying anything like "like your cool new haircut" or "did you get new glasses?" because it could really be taken the wrong way--and it really is pretty inappropriate.]

As several have said, you are the victim--you've done nothing wrong. But bearing the mantle of victimhood can be frustratingly disempowering. Much of the advice here is, I think, really empowering. Leave the coffee shop before he gets creepy. Don't take his phone calls if he calls (use caller ID and screen calls.) Restrict email to strictly business. Never meet him alone, or off campus. If you must meet alone, the door should always be open, and there should be others around [Dr. Creepy in my old dept. held office hours on Fridays at 5:00 pm. Subtle.]

In a way, some of this is disempowering--it hurts lose the comfort of a favorite coffee shop or other study venue. But taking positive steps means you take back some control. Part of that reclaiming of control is seeing the folks in charge of sexual harassment matters. In my experience, these folks take claims of harassment very seriously, because of the potential for lawsuits, really ugly publicity, and the like. Dr. Creepo can, perhaps, be scared back on to his side of the line. If not, then this has probably happened before, and, as others said, you will then be helping to build a case.

Sorry to go on, but can you start the documentation process now? If you have marked in your calendar your appointments with him, or can recall the days on which he said/did inappropriate stuff, write it all down now, while it's fresh.

Creeps like this piss me off. I hope it stops.

[flavorrocks1]

You have gotten some great advice.  I will add my two cents worth--blind copy a trusted friend on all email correspondence with Prof. Creep.  Send all email responses from Prof. Creep to the same friend.  I had a friend go through a similar situation with a boss at her university.  She blind copied me and forwarded all responses just to safeguard against a computer crash or computer tampering (he had friends in IT.  Some of his emails did disappear.) 

Best of luck and do keep us up to date. 

[kaysixteen]

I disagree that the guy will be afraid of punishment and not retaliate.  He will probably not be afraid of retaliation, esp, if he has done this sort of thing before without consequence, and most esp. if he is a tenured bigshot.  Instead, I think he will retaliate, and he may well have institutional allies helping him to do so-- how old is he, what is the nature of the school, etc.?  I would say, because this is dangerous for the student, and in any case professor's behavior is disgusting and unacceptable, that she needs to go on the offensive immediately, and that *she cannot handle this alone*.  Uni's first instinct will be to try to cover, etc., and it would seem easier to default by trying to throw her under the bus than anything else.  She will need to not only document anything but act-- contact her parents immediately, and get an outside lawyer asap.

[aandsdean]

I agree with the advice here and would add another thing.

Once the university is on notice about this kind of matter--and an informal report that's credible is enough to put it on notice--technically it's legally obligated to investigate.  The extent and aggressiveness of the investigation are a matter of discretion, but there is the legal obligation as well as the basic principle of adhering to the industry standard of due diligence involved here.

Given that, I think that the AA/EOE person, whomever it may be, and the campus security/police are indeed better bets than the chair or dean.  I hate to say it, but the nonacademic administrators are likelier to take this kind of conduct more seriously than than the academic ones are.

I personally would have a very firm conversation with the malefactor, documented by something in his file, and the next time around, if there were to be one, I'd fire his ass.  But that's because I've seen people, including my wife, endure this kind of conduct without any real recourse because of wimpy administrators, and I have a vow not to be one of those.

One final thing, though, OP:  you have GOT to stand up here.  If it goes beyond a reprimand, we're talking about someone's career (even if that someone is a scumbag), and so the accusation has to be credible and delivered in person by a real person, not some sort of quiet grapevine thing.  I would  visit the fires of hell on someone who behaved this way (and indeed have done so once), but ethically you really can't do it without a credible witness.  Witch hunts are no good even if you agree with them.

PS:  In response to K16:  the guy may want to retaliate, and the lawyer advice is reasonable.  If a university supports retaliation, the OP can enjoy a comfortable career doing what she wants on the proceeds of the fat settlement.  A smart administration knows this.

[traductio]

Earlier in the thread, Barred Owl (I think) recommended talking to the dean of students (as opposed to the college dean), and I wanted to second that recommendation. The advice you've gotten here is excellent, but occasionally contradictory, and the maze you might end up having to navigate risks being complicated, to say the very least. The job of the dean of students in a case like this is to act as the student's advocate and help you navigate that maze. The dean of students will be aware of the machinations of the university in ways that you as a student (or even I as a professor) won't be.

Best of luck. As you can see, professors like the one you describe make those of us who aren't creeps very, very angry.

[temporaryname]

Chime on pretty much everything said so far.

You've gotten a lot of advice, all of it good, and so there's a danger that you'll face paralysis from not knowing where to start. I'd prioritize the top three things for you to do like this (others can feel free to call me on any errors, but I think this works):

1. As a matter of self-defense, don't ever be alone again with this professor. If he's truly sneaky he'll work at getting you alone, but you need a third, friendly pair of eyes around at all times.

2. Start keeping a log of all interactions with this professor, even innocent ones.

3. Find out which campus office is in charge of dealing with these things (AA/EOE, campus police, dean of students, whatever) and go there. Immediately. If you don't know which one to go to, or it's hard to find out which one quickly, go to your campus's women's center or counseling office (most campuses have at least one of those) and get them to tell you. They will, it's their job. (They may even help guide you through the process, though I can't guarantee that, of course.)

And finally, from a male professor, I'd like to thank you in advance (on edit: along with Traductio) for getting this harasser dealt with properly. It's people like him who give the professoriate in general and especially male professors a bad name, so I'd like as many of them removed from the equation as possible.

[fishbrains]

To echo aandsdean: My understanding of sexual harassment law (which admittedly only comes from in-service training) is that once the OP reports the a-hole professor's a-hole behavior to anyone at the College, that College person has a legal duty to report the accusation and the College has a legal obligation to investigate.

In a perfect world, I'd report the bastard and let the chips fall where they may.

Pragmatically, I would follow LarryC's advice and then wait until I had my degree in hand before I thought about going against an established icon of the College without some pretty serious evidence. This guy is a predatory jerk, but he's not stupid. Obviously, I don't know the College, but it's hard to believe people aren't aware of what this guy does.

Document, document, document. Protect yourself, especially if the behavior escalates.

Any way you go, good luck with this. You deserve better.

[grasshopper]

Pragmatically, I would follow LarryC's advice and then wait until I had my degree in hand before I thought about going against an established icon of the College without some pretty serious evidence. This guy is a predatory jerk, but he's not stupid. Obviously, I don't know the College, but it's hard to believe people aren't aware of what this guy does.

Document, document, document. Protect yourself, especially if the behavior escalates.

Yes, absolutely. This is why I had suggested writing a letter after this a**hole has no recourse for retaliation.

There is no way that you, OP, are the first. Nor will you likely be the last. This guy probably has a reputation. And if he does, you can be sure that admin has gotten wind of it.

If you send a letter, detailing exactly what your experiences with this professor have been, they will be under a legal obligation to investigate.