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Dear Faculty Relations 鈥� Several faculty members came to my office wringing their hands about the behavior of a colleague who frequently interrupts others, raises their voice, and bangs on the table during meetings. The faculty member is also known to be spiteful, having tanked a person鈥檚 tenure years ago; others are afraid to speak up. They aren鈥檛 alone, I鈥檝e witnessed this and have felt the same way, and I don鈥檛 want to deal with it. For our new faculty coming to their first meetings, this behavior feels particularly threatening and intimidating. I know this colleague well and understand the newish faculty fright, but I am used to it and would rather not engage. I checked the personnel files, and there are no notes that any supervisor has ever reported or dealt with this behavior before, even though it has gone on for a long time. I want to let it go. 鈥� Uncomfortable Chair

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Dear Uncomfortable 鈥� Sometimes it feels easier to let it go, but it has to be addressed when behavior is repetitive and continual, even just a couple of times. Ask to meet with the faculty member and explain how their communication during meetings impacts their colleagues. Give concrete examples over the last few months of behaviors during meetings that have rattled fellow faculty. Ask for their view. Do they acknowledge these actions or at least the perspectives of their colleagues? Explain how the says the behavior is a form of unprofessional behavior under the standards adopted by the faculty. Even if they didn鈥檛 intend harm, help them with strategies for expressing their points of view without appearing to threaten or harm others and to identify more professional ways to communicate their perspective.听 At the end of the chat, emphasize to the faculty member their professional responsibility to be collegial and mutually respectful and to know and follow university policies and procedures. Afterward, memorialize the conversation with an email to the faculty member and place a copy in their personnel records.

Did you know that as an academic leader, if you were to walk away instead, that behavior also violates the PRR and your responsibilities as a department chair?听 One of the criteria for being a chair is having the personal skills to deal effectively with faculty.听 Also, applicable from Part III, the leader of the academic unit will鈥�

• sustain an environment that promotes and exemplifies basic human dignity for all鈥︹�� (C. 1. a)
• be receptive to questions, complaints, grievances, and suggestions from department members, academic and staff personnel, and students. 鈥淭he chair has the responsibility to take appropriate action as required.鈥� (C 1. j.)
• be responsible for 鈥渢imely resolution of allegations of unprofessional conduct.鈥� (C. 2. k.)

Otherwise, as Chair, you might be complicit in this behavior and can unwittingly support a toxic environment, affecting you, your colleagues, your entire unit. Many good things can come from addressing this poor behavior:

• You provide the faculty member with fairness. They can鈥檛 correct something they don鈥檛 know, and you can鈥檛 assume they know if no one tells them.
• You can maintain a relationship with the faculty member by not focusing your conversation on blame and shame but instead engaging in a dialogue where you try to learn their perspective and produce results of changing their future behavior.听
• You are taking action, fulfilling your responsibilities as a chair.
• You are following through on PRR procedures that 麻豆免费版下载Boulder faculty determined are the right steps to take.
• You can say to your colleagues that you have followed up and taken action as appropriate. You empower them rather than send an implicit message of learned helplessness that nothing can be done.
• You can be morally accountable.

Have a question on how to handle a difficult situation? !听 Or you can .

Written by Suzanne Soled, PhD, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Support; Director of Faculty Relations, Office of Faculty Affairs, 麻豆免费版下载, August听2021