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[erindr]

I am a female department chair.  Last year one of the men in our department received tenure/promotion and almost immediately started to bully me.  He begins by expressing "concern" over "department policy and procedure" but he quickly personalizes policy issues and views every decision (even those that are dictated by university regulations or voted upon and passed by faculty majority) as a personal attack upon him.  I have drawn some boundaries and have told him he cannot call me on the phone or send me text messages and that any e-mails he sends me will be forwarded to the dean.  He frequently discusses the "injustices" against him with faculty and the dean (and even, on one occasion, with the provost).  After several angst-ridden and stressful weeks he will settle down, be sweet and charming for a few weeks, and then the cycle starts again.  What never gets addressed, however, is his consistent behavioral pattern of screaming at and belittling me.  Our R1 institution does not have a good track record with formal grievances, they are almost always NOT resolved in favor of the person who files them so I am hesitant to go that route.  And as department chair I can't exactly file a restraining order and maintain the function of the department.  Do I just give up and return to the faculty and do as much of my work at home as possible for the next 20 years?

[terpsichore]

Have you discussed this situation with your dean or other higher administrator? If so, what advice did they give?

Do you have any 'wise elders' on your faculty that you trust? Can you discuss this with any of them? Former chairs can sometimes (but not always) provide a useful perspective on how to handle difficult faculty (if they are not, themselves, the difficult faculty.)

[lizzy]

Chime to Terpsichore's suggestion.

Only you can decide if being chair is worth the hassle of dealing with this colleague. I'd be loathe to let one crazy person drive me out of my position, though.

I hope you're documenting everything.

Meanwhile, I can see a range of possible responses. Of course, I have no idea of your situation, the tenor of your department, and so on.

But here's a couple of general ideas, based on some ugliness in departments I've worked in:

1) The next time he starts the crazy cycle, call him on it in a mildly perplexed but firm tone:  "CrazyBob, I notice that you've become personally abusive since you've been granted tenure. What's up with that? I find your behavior disturbing, and you should know that I've been documenting it. . . "

Or--next time he starts the crazy cycle, say something along the lines of "CrazyBob, please put your request/complaint/rant in writing. After I've received it, I'll let you know what can be done, also in writing."  Rinse and repeat.


2) Is there any way to give or encourage CrazyBob to take a "special" position in the department? What is he good at? Is there something he can do that will keep him busy and divert his energy away from you?

Or--does he have a friend/mentor in the department who is also a person you feel is trustworthy and reasonable? Could you have a frank talk with this person, along the lines that you're concerned that CrazyBob seems not quite himself? Is there a problem that you should be aware of?


3)  Schedule an "official" meeting with your dean to review your options for dealing with a hostile faculty member. Discuss, in detail, the behavior. Produce whatever documentation you have. In your OP, you note that he is male and you are female. If you feel this is the root of his behavior, say so. If necessary, use the words "hostile working environment" in your conversation with the dean.

 

[shrek]

You need to find a way to nip this in the bud, now. Do it publically and decisively. There's a whole literature out there on bullies and how to deal with it. Make sure your dean will back you up. It will only get worse if left unchecked-- and imagine what this person is doing to people with no power.

Also, I'd institute some behavioral reinforcement-- give him crappy assignments, committees, etc. if he gets out of line and better ones when he's appropriate.

[larryc]

consistent behavioral pattern of screaming at and belittling me

That is appalling and you should not put up with it. Some ideas:

How about some electronic documentation? Someone on another thread said that they began openly recording department meetings "to help the secretary with the notes" and that knowing he was recorded had a chastening effect on the department bully. If it is in your office, a digital voice recorder is cheap, or just turn around your webcam before he comes in and hit record. (Someone is going to say "In some states that might be illegal yadda yadda yadda... Just do it anyway.)

Where does your dean stand on this situation? Play him a tape recording of Dr. Psycho yelling at you. Tell him "I am being bullied. I have just documented to you that I am being bullied. I want you to make it stop so I don't have to take this any further."

And Shrek makes an important suggestion. As chair, what can you actually do to Dr. Psycho? No summer teaching? 8 a.m. classes? No teaching assistants and lots of comp classes? Negative yearly evaluations? Play hardball with this fvcker.

[msparticularity]

The major problem I see with this scenario is that the OP is the chair and the bully is a member of the faculty. Most (if not all) policies and laws dealing with harassment and/or bullying presuppose a power imbalance: that the bully or harasser has some form of power over the victim. In this case, the individual who is behaving inappropriately is the person on the lower end of the power scale--and aside from the fact that he is incredibly rude and inappropriate, it is hard to see how this could meet the usual standard for a grievance or a charge of harassment. Documenting inappropriate behavior by a tenured faculty member with the goal of having something done about it can be a drawn-out and ultimately thankless task. Unfortunately, being an a$$hole is not illegal, or even a grievable offense.

[gekko]

Why in the world is anyone surprised that this happens so often? When you have a system in place (tenure) that facilitates socially unacceptable or non-productive behavior, that's what you'll get. It never ceases to amaze me how surprised people are when someone becomes either a massive a-hole or deadwood five minutes after getting tenure.

[theblondeassassin]

Why in the world is anyone surprised that this happens so often? When you have a system in place (tenure) that facilitates socially unacceptable or non-productive behavior, that's what you'll get. It never ceases to amaze me how surprised people are when someone becomes either a massive a-hole or deadwood five minutes after getting tenure.

Yes, why have contracts at all, given the costs of opportunism and shirking? Pure market transactions are obviously the best -- everyone should have to reapply for their jobs every day. 

[mouseman]

Why in the world is anyone surprised that this happens so often? When you have a system in place (tenure) that facilitates socially unacceptable or non-productive behavior, that's what you'll get. It never ceases to amaze me how surprised people are when someone becomes either a massive a-hole or deadwood five minutes after getting tenure.

And yet, it rarely happens.  I've worked in many universities in many departments and the great majority of the tenured faculty worked harder than those who were yet untenured.  You also seem to have some weird idea of the nature of tenure.  If a department wants to get rid of a tenured faculty member, they will.  Most universities have multiple ways of removing tenured faculty, or making their life so miserable that they leave of their own accord.  Furthermore, a university can always fire a tenured faculty member, if that person is not fulfilling their job.  

Please, making an argument based on caricatures is best left to politicians speaking to their supporters.  Doing it on an academic forum is intellectual suicide.



PS.  The cases in which universities get in trouble for firing tenured faculty are usually the result of administrators who are too lazy/arrogant to read the university bylaws or handbooks.

[olddrone]

OP’s post seems to attest that this bully is a conniving yet judicious opportunist:

1.   He was careful not to rock the boat till he got tenure.
2.   Upon receiving tenure, he smelled the OP was vulnerable.
3.   He must have thought he could get away with his harassment, and to certain extent, he did (because OP allowed it, as though).

Given his manipulative and cunning behavior, stop allowing him to be abusive; leave your door open during the confrontation so that your secretary can witness the verbal abuse.  Use all the punitive actions others have suggested above to make sure he knows who is in charge, and he will not do it again.

Prove to him that you got the balls.

Your school might not have a well-established, written grievance procedure; however, creating a “hostile working environment” is against the law. 

Google it and document everything, as suggested, so as to avoid “he said/she said argument” in the future.  It is not impossible to terminate a tenured faculty if the school is facing a million-dollar litigation.  In fact, some schools ask a new hire to sign a document, stating that he/she will abide by federal and state laws while being employed; therefore, if one is found in violation of such laws, the school can always back off by saying, “Well, you have signed this document, yet you violated the law; therefore, you are on your own.  Go hire your own lawyer.”

I have seen it happen.


Olddrone (vincent.earthboy@gmail.com)

[stickball]

Erindr, sounds to me that your antagonist is simply an old-fashioned sexist who is not happy about being subordinate to a woman.  In addition to the words "hostile working environment", you might drop the phrases "sexual harassment and sexual discrimination" on your dean when you discuss this with him/her.  Nobody should have to put up with the crap he's sending your way. 

Oh.  And document absolutely everything.  All of his rants, emails, phone calls, hallway confrontations, everything.  As soon as you can, send him an email, copied, of course, to your dean and his boss, the faculty senate president, the union president (if there's a union on campus), and anyone else that might be even remotely connected to either of you on campus.  Perhaps a copy to the university legal office might be in order.  The email you send should be your write-up of what happened.  Don't get emotional in the message; just the facts.  Show them that you're serious about making this stop.

[oatmeal]

OP--This is awful. You have received some excellent advice here. Document everything. Speak to your dean and tell them everything. This might be uncomfortable but you will need to do this. Ask the dean for advice on how to proceed. The best way to stop a bully is to confront the bully. This can be done at an open meeting if the bully gets out of hand with "that is not appropriate." There will be witnesses then. If you have to meet with the bully, always have the door open, and hopefully the departmental secretary around. Again, witnesses. Every time the bully gets abusive, say "this is not appropriate. Please stop." Again, document. This should stop it. If not, follow the advice of others, by using your administrative "power" to end the bullying. Ultimately you can bring a grievance against the faculty member. You can also admonish the faculty member in writing, copied to the dean. You might also talk with other senior colleagues about this, but you need documentation and preferably a witness. As a chair, I can say that this is a difficult situation to deal with, but the longer it goes on the worse it will be. You have to stop it now. I am sorry this has happened. Good luck.

[prytania3]

You have the power, so why are you allowing yourself to get bullied?

Give him the worst schedule known to man in the worst classrooms that exist. Put a letter in his file everytime he is 2 seconds late with anything. If he yells and screams in your office, call security. Tell them he is acting in a threatening manner.

[spinnaker]

Why in the world is anyone surprised that this happens so often? When you have a system in place (tenure) that facilitates socially unacceptable or non-productive behavior, that's what you'll get. It never ceases to amaze me how surprised people are when someone becomes either a massive a-hole or deadwood five minutes after getting tenure.

Yes, why have contracts at all, given the costs of opportunism and shirking? Pure market transactions are obviously the best -- everyone should have to reapply for their jobs every day four months.

[pixelvainia]

I am a female department chair.  Last year one of the men in our department received tenure/promotion and almost immediately started to bully me.  He begins by expressing "concern" over "department policy and procedure" but he quickly personalizes policy issues and views every decision (even those that are dictated by university regulations or voted upon and passed by faculty majority) as a personal attack upon him.  I have drawn some boundaries and have told him he cannot call me on the phone or send me text messages and that any e-mails he sends me will be forwarded to the dean.  He frequently discusses the "injustices" against him with faculty and the dean (and even, on one occasion, with the provost).  After several angst-ridden and stressful weeks he will settle down, be sweet and charming for a few weeks, and then the cycle starts again.  What never gets addressed, however, is his consistent behavioral pattern of screaming at and belittling me.  Our R1 institution does not have a good track record with formal grievances, they are almost always NOT resolved in favor of the person who files them so I am hesitant to go that route.  And as department chair I can't exactly file a restraining order and maintain the function of the department.  Do I just give up and return to the faculty and do as much of my work at home as possible for the next 20 years?

You don't need him to be sweet and charming. Is he using your history of friendship to jerk you around? Next time he's sweet and charming, be businesslike and curt. Take care of business, and then excuse yourself. Your friendship is over. Also, if he views normal things as personal attacks on him, why isn't that is problem. When he says "I am concerned about this or that decision" can you say "OK, I'll give it some thought" and then just forget about it?