Academic Scandals: Miscellaneous
This
is a catch-all category. Typically what falls in this category won’t be horrible
but just terribly inappropriate.
The Potty-Mouth Professor
Well, this one hits close to home? I have worked at LSU for 20 years, and I am
truly disturbed by the actions of this professor. But I am also an advocate of
free speech. And yet, I expect people to use some discretion. I can tell you
that at LSU, it is hammered into us that sexual references are not appropriate
for faculty-student discussions, in class or out, unless of course it is for
legitimate academic discourse. So when this professor in the School of Education
was the subject of complaints about extremely inappropriate language both in the
classroom and in discussions in her office, I wished she had exercised some
restraint. While I don’t take kindly to generalized disparaging remarks about
all men, as if we are all a bunch of scuzzbags, she can believe it. In some
cases, she can say it, such as at a bar with friends. Talking to students?
No. She ought to exercise some restraint. Some students are uncomfortable
hearing this stuff. But she fought it. LSU fought it. She lost. And we lost what
was probably a good teacher who was so angry over something personal that she
couldn’t keep it out of her conversation with students and classroom discussion.
This is a sad and embarrassing story for all involved.
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Last updated: May 12, 2024