Academic Council Meeting
November 16, 2023
3:30 – 5:00 PM
0012 Westbrook Building (Divinity School)
1) Welcome / Remarks from the Chair
2) Approval of the October 19, 2023 meeting minutes
3) VOTE: Margolis Center and request to transition to Institute status (To review or request the materials that were presented please contact acouncil@duke.edu)
4) Presentation of a proposal for an Executive Masters of Public Affairs degree from the Sanford School of Public Policy (To review or request the materials that were presented please contact acouncil@duke.edu)
5) Time permitting, anonymous question for senior leadership to address:
“Pass the harasser” is a well-known phenomenon in higher education, where a professor or administrator commits some form of inappropriate behavior (mostly sexual harassment), resigns quietly (or under some pressure), and gets a new job at a different institution where they are none the wiser regarding previous conduct. Duke has been guilty of this offense, and I know of one case in 20xx that has repercussions to this day, as some of my colleagues at xxxx (where that faculty member ended up) are still refusing to engage with my department given what they had to suffer through as a result.
My question to Duke leadership is whether they have undertaken steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again – both ways, in terms of hiring and in terms of passing on the problematic faculty/administrator.
For further context and inspiration, here is an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education on what can be done: https://www.chronicle.com/article/2-universities-tried-to-stop-passing-the-harasser-heres-what-theyve-learned
6) EXECUTIVE SESSION: Resume conversation regarding DKU to address questions posed by ECAC and faculty.
7) EXECUTIVE SESSION: Update on Appendix L (formerly Z) of the Faculty Handbook (Policy on Consensual, Romantic, or Sexual Relationships Between Faculty and Students).