Dear Faculty Relations: I was told that a faculty member acted unprofessionally. I鈥檓 the Supervising Administrator. I checked out the allegation and found it was true. What next? How do I sanction?
Dear Sanctioner: If you do nothing, you鈥檒l sanction the unprofessional behavior because your lack of action implicitly conveys your approval -- the behavior is likely to continue. If you want the behavior to change or stop, after affording due process, sanction the behavior with enforcement through the PRD.
How you respond to faculty misconduct should be proportional to the behavior. What you do depends on how severe, persistent, and pervasive the unprofessional behavior is. So, how bad is it? How long has it happened? How frequently does it happen? Has the faculty member been put on notice for unprofessional behavior before?
Consider what course of action is likely to change the behavior from occurring again. For a lower level, first-time occurrence like a nasty email, a simple reminder to the faculty member that it is their responsibility to act professionally is all that is needed. Your response can also include an educational component. If they scream so loud people can hear it from behind closed doors, and it happens often, adding an educational action like anger management training might be valuable. If their actions have harmed someone else, and they are remorseful, a restorative justice conference can help repair harm. If they have broken the rules, remedial measures can be valuable, such as participating in policy training. For unprofessional behavior that has escalated due to disputes between parties, a trained, impartial mediator can assist in reaching an agreement.
A repeated occurrence of a lower level behavior or a higher level of unprofessionalism, such as intimidation or breaching confidentiality, could result in a written letter of reprimand or some type of reassignment of the faculty member鈥檚 working space, courses, or other duties. More severe sanctions, such as withholding raises or reducing salary, should be considered for egregious behavior or when the lower level behavior repeatedly persists despite prior notice to the faculty member to stop.
Guidance on procedures for academic administrators on sanctioning unprofessional conduct is available from Suzanne Soled.
Written by Suzanne Soled, PhD, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Support; Director of Faculty Relations, Office of Faculty Affairs, 麻豆影院, February听2021