October 1, 2008
Professor Accused of Hacking Into E-Mail Account of Student He Had an Affair With
A business professor has been charged in federal court with illegally intercepting the e-mail messages of a student he was having a romantic relationship with at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, according to an article in The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The professor, Stephan Grzeskowiak, taught at St. Thomas at the time, but he is now a visiting professor at the College of William and Mary. FBI officials reportedly pulled him out of class there last week to arrest him. He pleaded not guilty in a court appearance on Tuesday.
A grand jury in Madison, Wis., indicted Mr. Grzeskowiak for hacking into the student’s e-mail account while he was teaching at St. Thomas, according to media reports. The Pioneer Press identifies the former student as Kelly Koster, and says that the professor tricked her into opening an e-mail attachment that installed software on her computer allowing him to see her e-mail.
In addition to the criminal charges, the student filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Grzeskowiak and against the University of St. Thomas. An attorney for Ms. Koster could not be reached by The Chronicle for comment. The civil suit says the student and professor had an intimate relationship for eight months until she attempted to break it off.
Officials at William and Mary have temporarily relieved Mr. Grzeskowiak of his teaching duties while they investigate the matter, says Brian Whitson, a college spokesman. Mr. Grzeskowiak taught a graduate-level marketing class at William and Mary’s Peninsula Center, in Newport News, Va. —Jeffrey R. Young
Posted on Wednesday October 1, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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Okay, boys—I know you will disagree, but here goes: a professor ( in a position of power) should not be copulating with their students. This behavior costs organizations many millions of dollars each year. Look where it leads one—now poor Stephan Gladuwacked is going to do a little time away from the public. All because he couldn’t control himself and discern right from wrong. Leave your students alone, already. Go find someone your own age and quit with the pedophilic tendencies.
— Suzan Oct 1, 04:30 PM #
Gee Suzan, I was right with you until that last sentence. People shouldn’t engage in sexual relations with people over whom they have substantial power, like profs over students, absolutely agree. But you completely lost me on the leap to pedophilia…The guy was 34 and the woman was 27! In what jurisdiction is sex with a 27yo pedophilia? In truth, so long as she was over the age of consent, they could be 60 years apart in age and it wouldn’t be pedophilia…Still quite wrong because of the power/authority issue.
— PB Oct 1, 04:54 PM #
Suzan,
It may well be indicative of imprudence and impropriety to have an affair with a student — but most certainly not of anything remotely “pedophilic.”
— Anonymous Oct 1, 04:59 PM #
Well, Suzan. I think it is time to respond……
— Jim Oct 2, 02:07 AM #
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, is in the midst of turmoil because of what seemed at first a small case of a relationship gone wrong – a student wishing to publish her frustration with her professor’s gossiping about their affair. He threatened her not to – ending up in a long battle that got to the public arena. Alongside that other cases of sexual harassement popped-up. The university filed a complaint with the police against another case – which got to headlights of daily’s and all TV stations. The university is now in the midst of reforming its codes of conduct. This tells us that sex and power – though tempting to join – should be kept apart, and it is our responsibility to remind people why.
Suzan had a sense of humor there, not a serious psychological analysis (pedophilia), I think. We should keep the philia out of philiation in academe. And keep a sense of humor too.
— Gad Yair Oct 2, 02:57 AM #
I also resent the “I know you will disagree” generalization, as if most male professors think this behavior is OK. It is NOT, and every male professor I know, myself included, knows it. How many millions of dollars a year it costs organizations is also immaterial.It is wrong at the personal level, period.
— Ruritania Oct 2, 07:03 AM #
Susan didn’t say the guy was a pedaphile, she said he had pedophilic tendencies. Maybe not so far off the mark. Nevertheless, you boys need to stop chasing your students around the desk. At the very least it is simply trashy. And certainly it is unethical and down right wrong.
— Tess Oct 2, 07:09 AM #
Every professor, male or female, should know it. This is not an age anymore where professors are always male. Nor is it an age where “the poor dear” was forced into this relationship. She has turned a domestic problem into a public one by suing the school.
It’s a really bad idea, and against nearly every organizations’ policies, to “consort” with subordinates or superiors unless you’re prepared for the consequences.
— Amanda Oct 2, 07:17 AM #
i think susan’s first and last sentences were meant to be light, humorous frames for her substantive points. It’s a common and often effective rhetorical device to use humor to frame serious points; but online speech often loses the nuances. Her substantive points seem beyond dispute to me.
I imagine that Susan would agree that some women in positions of power can excuse or cover up such abuse, as often males in such positions do, rather than ensuring that it be properly investigated. Her comment does not strike me as anti-male, but it is anti-harassment and lots of men and some women are blind to how pervasive it is.
— Marc Oct 2, 07:19 AM #
Suzan, you captured my sentiments exactly. And don’t let the closet-apologist trolls put even a dent in your perspective. I work at an institution that has consistently looked the other way and has even gone after the complainant (typically female student) to not only cover-up for the offending faculty/administrator, but has actually attempted to mount the most feeble of defenses for the indefensible behavior of opportunistic faculty and staff that dare to abuse the VERY imbalanced relationship between a student and a faculty/administrator.
In our very recent history, a TOP (no pun intended) administrator of substantial longevity with a very well-know satyric reputation of his own brand of after-hours “desk-top” entertainment was finally dismissed when the proverbial skidmarks he kept presenting to his colleagues were finally no longer washable.
Of course he pulled the race card and a couple of hungry legal thugs all-too ready to “defend” him and he finally left with a hefty settlement as “punishment” for the many years that he abused countless students.
Suzan, you go girl! Too many apologists, too many cowardly administrators at the top and so little time to expose them. Thanks
— Madison, WI Oct 2, 09:57 AM #
Age difference is not a factor in this case so it should not be even mentioned. The relevant point is that no one should be allowed to have sexual relationship with ones subortinates -students or employees, in academia, businesses. government or religion.
— Sam Oct 2, 10:02 AM #
oops, should NOT be allowed
— Sam Oct 2, 10:11 AM #
I think what Suzan missed was to lump women into the discussion. It seems there have been a number of cases of female secondary and middle school teachers copulating with male students. Of course they usually get by with a wrist slap because we all know that behavior is ok. (I was being humorous here too so I know none of you will be offended.)
— Bill Oct 2, 10:36 AM #
Suzan, The essential substance of your comment was in the middle of the bulls-eye The criticism you received was based purely on your effort to overreach. Let that be a “learning” moment. When you are in the bulls-eye, there is no need to embellish.
— Bill Oct 2, 11:12 AM #
heh heh heh
suzan said copulate
heh heh heh
heh heh heh
— DeeDee Pontiac Oct 2, 11:13 AM #
Why are we all focusing on Suzan’s comment? How about we focus on the fact that the systems at play here appear to be working justly—we have a professor, sex being irrelevant, who had an inappropriate romantic relationship with a student, allegedly hacked into her account, and is now facing criminal and civil charges. This is one of many examples of why these relationships are prohibited. I bet this professor is not feeling so smart now.
— Justice Oct 2, 11:39 AM #
There are consequences to having affairs with students. I once interviewed an adjunct faculty member for a full time teaching job working with an especially vulnerable population. On the surface, he looked very qualified, but he had a record of sleeping with his students (not affairs, just afternoon delights). My job was to find the best instructor for my students, and that included not exposing them to an instructor who had a record of exploiting students for any reason. He did not get the position.
We need to weed out instructors who damage students, although in this case, the email snooping was the worst offense so long as the student was not taking courses from the instructor.
— Mich Oct 2, 11:47 AM #
I certainly wish more universities took sexual harassment more seriously, should I say, beyond a policy statement. I venture to say that perhaps undergraduates have more power to complain and that graduate students are often politically strangled with fear for the completion of their degrees. We have a number of predators in our graduate school and the graduate assistants talk about it frequently. My predator has been harassing students for 30 years and despite numerous complaints, he has nothing on his record. I’m still in therapy for what he has done to me. I wonder what has happened to the generations of cohorts that he abused…I believe that professors who seek out either consentual relationship or just harass and pursue relentlessly, are quite aware of the power dynamic and how it protects them with a wall of silence. It’s a shame that the academy doesn’t always protect it’s consumers from such thuggery.
— living in a dream world Oct 2, 12:06 PM #
Save me the moral outrage of professor-student relationships. As long as university community shows up en masse to professor-student / senior faculty-junior faculty and other forms of unequal power weddings bearing gifts, we are sending mixed messages: if your relationships end in marriage, we’ll celebrate; if it falls apart and generates bad publicity then we’ll excoriate you as an evil person.
— Ted Oct 2, 12:11 PM #
Got issues, Suzan? Pedophilia? I haven’t spoken to any male professor who thinks it’s okay to boink his students. And yes, the behavior of the prof-in-question sounds uniquely egregious. But no reasonable person would call it pedophilia, either.
— Hamster Oct 2, 12:31 PM #
There is enough hypocrisy to go around.
— IGI Oct 2, 12:35 PM #
I think Susan is right. Despite the age of the male professor, there is the tendancy for students to be put in a child/adult relationship with a professor who engages in this behavior no matter what the age. I have a colleague now who Iknow is sleeping with students but no one has reported him yet. It will be just a matter of time before he gets caught or his wife kicks his behind.
— Liz C Oct 2, 01:29 PM #
Ted, may I point out that the infamous Bill/ Monica scandal didn’t help things, either? The number of liberal feminists who tripped over their tongues trying to defend that “consenting adults” situation was both humorous and pathetic. Such relationships- Professor /student superior/underling- are WRONG even when the the parties are single.And BTW, Tess, you girls need to stop chasing the boytoys as well.
— RKO Oct 2, 02:31 PM #
Souzan, what is your specific motivation for such a remark? What is your own profession and history? Do you have any professional or personal anecdotes to enlighten us with?
— Zug Oct 2, 02:31 PM #
Some of these posts are showing a certain age. A quick survey of boards and on-line rating sites will show plenty students rating their profs for “hotness” and some are actually the chaser around that desk. So maybe we should target students with the message that it just isn’t worth the damage to your education and professional prospects (there are plenty of fellow students who will hack your email or cellphone).
— jbi Oct 2, 03:01 PM #
I have been in administration in a professional school for many years and believe me this is a problem with female faculty as well. Students warn, or inform, each other who to avoid, or seek out. Our culture views harassment differently, depending on gender. So please, spare us the “OK boys”. Its a power thing.
— Gary Beard Oct 2, 03:07 PM #
Bottom line: even if age is not a factor, power differential ALWAYS is. Gender is not. Women have shown themselves equally capable of abusing power. What is so disconcerting is that people attempt to excuse such behaviour.
Clearly a seven year differential is not that great gap at that age. But power always is — whether reporting line or academic promotion. To pretend that power does not play a role in the relationship is ludicrous. I was a sexual harrassment officer and my bottom line is in any relationship, I expect the person in power to be the adult in the relationship regardless of the legal age of the student. It is part of being a responsible adult.Teachers are there to teach, not find romantic or sexual partners. For those who would consider defending this based on the legal age of the student, how is a creating a romantic (or worse) sexual relationship remotely professional behaviour?
— Don Oct 2, 03:11 PM #
A 34 year old instructor, 27 year old student. Email, FBI, 2 campuses 2000 miles apart, 8 month relationship. Tricked into downloading snooping software. The Stuff the Lifetime Network dreams of!
At what point will we find out it was “Face Book.” and/or/maybe the relationship ended after the grade was posted.
I find it sad that a career has ended, and the full forces of the federal government were brought in because the 34 year immature instructor and the 27 year old immature grad student couldn’t keep the student/teacher relationship in its proper context.
— seth Oct 2, 03:15 PM #
The professor is in trouble for his internet spying, not for what seems to have been a consensual relationship with another adult. Having an intimate relationship with a co-worker or client in any organization creates extra risks, but the workplace is the location where adults are most likely to meet lovers and future spouses. Universities restricting romantic and sexual relationships among faculty, students, and staff usually include many married couples who met that way.
— Heloise and Abelard Oct 2, 03:37 PM #
This article is about hacking, not the relationship. The professor just can’t let it go after 8 months, that’s all. I doubt the 27-yr old student was pressured to go out with the 34-yr old professor to begin with. They dated for 8 months, that’s longer than just that one course. Many schools have a policy to require a professor to disclose any intimate relationship with a student. The article didn’t mention anything at all. So, I don’t think we should jump to any conclusion about their relationship.
— Terry Oct 2, 04:05 PM #
#22 and others who “know” of these sorts of relationships… what sort of ethical obligation do you have to tell someone of authority about what you “know”? (Your answer might vary depending upon whether your institution has a consensual relationships policy… mine does, so I would feel that if I knew, or even suspected such things, I should talk to someone, even if it was just starting with the colleague.At my institution, employees are required to notify/work with a supervisor, so there’s no automatic firing involved.)
— HIED doc Oct 2, 06:36 PM #
“Nevertheless, you boys need to stop chasing your students around the desk.”
Same with you girls. I’ll bet every large city in the country and a lot of small ones has a couple of examples of female teachers (mostly at the high school level) who have seduced teen boys.
I call it the silo explosion phenomenon. Years ago stories began to multiply about silo explosions. Every few days another one somewhere would explode, and the media would report this new mystery. Come to find out, it was nothing unusual at all. Exploding silos happen. Ditto cranes falling. And teachers seducing their students. Nothing new under the sun.
It just means it was a slow news day.
— Green Eyeshade Oct 2, 06:52 PM #
Unfortunately sexual harassment can be same-sex or opposite-sex, driven by males or females. I can’t condemn relationships across age lines, or even student-teacher relationships IF the teacher is never the direct supervisor of the student in question, though I myself wouldn’t take the risk. But even if a student is chasing you around the desk, you have the power to say no — or call security.
— Beth Oct 3, 10:13 AM #
How do we even know that she was his student at the time? She is just identified as “a student” of the university. Also, her age indicates that she was probably a graduate student. Heck, we don’t even know if she was a student there before or after the affair started- perhaps she enrolled after the affair began? The relationship did last 8 months… Everyone is so quick to finger point and put things together to make a “juicy” story.
As stated before, the relationship isn’t the part to be concerned about- it is the alleged hacking.
— Lucy Oct 4, 05:54 PM #
#34, if you read the article in The St. Paul Pioneer Press, you would have seen the article says he was “one of her professors.” The relationship is absolutely the part to be concerned about because had they not entered into it, which was probably against their university’s policy, the hacking, etc., probably would not have occurred.
— Justice Oct 6, 10:27 AM #
My point is that we don’t know anything about when the relationship started- I think if the relationship started before she was a student at the University, perspectives would change.
— Lucy Oct 7, 12:27 PM #
Sorry #35, I read the article and you are right!
— Lucy Oct 7, 12:31 PM #
In my opinion. Love is blind. So, leave the professor & girl alone in a room & let them decide what next is to be happened!
— KAKA Oct 8, 10:37 AM #