Proposed prof sex policy softened

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee voted Wednesday to soften the penalty for professors who engage in consensual sexual relations with their students. After adding a phrase stating that administrators have the option of taking either "disciplinary" or "remedial" action against professors who violate the newly proposed policy forbidding professor-student relationships, the Committee approved the policy draft introduced at last month's meeting. The proposed sexual harassment policy would bar all consensual sexual relations between professors and their students and strongly discourage all relations between teachers and students even when the students are not taking classes taught by that professor. Because SEC is an advisory committee, the policy must now be approved by the president and provost. The original proposal stated that administrators deciding how to deal with a professor who violates the policy may take "disciplinary action." With Wednesday's revision, the administrators can also take "remedial measures." Law School Professor Stephen Burbank, who is a member of the Committee, said that the phrase was added to give the administrators flexibility when resolving cases that range from "seriously violating" the policy to minor infractions. Past Committee Chairperson Gerald Porter, a mathematics professor, said the University will have to make compromises if it institutes the proposal. But he said that it is still an appropriate policy for an academic institution. The Committee also approved two amendments to its proposal regarding just cause -- the guidelines the University uses when firing or demoting a faculty member. Although the Committee has been discussing just cause for years, until recently it was unable to agree on a procedure. The Committee will publish the entire document in the Almanac after spring break and will send a mail ballot to all faculty for a vote on the proposal. Under one amendment, the president of the University is allowed to reduce the severity of any disciplinary action that the SEC makes regarding a faculty member. The chair, past chair and chair-elect must approve the president's decision. The president, however, is not allowed to mete out a more harsh sanction against a faculty member. With the second amendment, if a faculty member and the president object to the decision because of the way the procedure was carried out, then the professor can appeal to the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility. While the amendments provide checks against a committee that would provide sanctions that are too harsh, Porter and Burbank said they are disappointed that the president cannot increase the severity of the Committee's decision.

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