Deans
When a faculty member faces harassment related to academic freedom, the dean must respond promptly and fairly. Their role is to support the faculty member, prevent retaliation, and uphold institutional policies and academic freedom.
Circumstances can and do vary, and there is not a one size fits all solution. The information below offers general guidance that can be adapted to fit the situation.
Actions
For harassment from unaffiliated individuals, coordinate your overall response with the unit lead, senior administrators, and strategic communications.
For harassment from affiliated individuals, please follow the guidance of the appropriate campus response office rather than individually notifying other units.
Contact the targeted faculty member to offer support and to discuss possible responses.
Contact the department chair/unit lead to offer support and resources.
Work with the chair and police to determine whether to inform the targeted faculty member’s department (this may or may not be advisable); get a copy of the police report, if applicable.
Reach out to the college’s or school’s communicator and the campus issues management team and inform them of the harassment (news travels fast and could quickly escape the university environment, which often results in remarkably fast news coverage). These media professionals can work with law enforcement, the targeted individual, and the academic department in managing communications around the threat.
Report the harassment as soon as possible to senior administrators, sharing as much information as possible.
Communicate with the Office of Strategic Communications & Brand Strategy so that you plan and implement a coordinated response.
Communicate, generally and in the midst of crises, the centrality of and rationale for academic freedom and the importance of safety and civil dialogue. This could include faculty meetings, newsletters/websites and discussions with faculty, students and staff.
Consider whether others in the dean’s office (e.g., administrative staff who answer the phone) may also receive harassing messages. To coordinate that response, work with your college/school/unit communicator, Strategic Relations and Communications, and the Behavioral Intervention Team & Threat Assessment. It is then suggested that you inform those who need to know what to expect and how to respond by providing a script for phone calls or a template for emails and instructions about keeping phone logs and preserving documents.
Consider whether others in the school (e.g., faculty, staff or students) could benefit from talking about what is happening.
Others who share aspects of the targeted individual’s demographic identity may need or want particular support depending on the nature of the harassment.