This is a sincere question: if you are a faculty member, and an ugly situation like the Stamper one exists, once the chair and dean are aware of it, what can you do? You can steer graduate students away from the person, perhaps, but what options are really open particularly for someone more junior than the offender?

By the way, I must once again protest the conflation of "liberal arts" with "politically liberal." That is not an automatic association, and I refuse to surrender the Liberal Arts that easily.

multiple choice--answer your own question. i didn't mention G & S. you did. who constitutes a bystander? but whatever your answer, be principled and apply it to all appropriate cases.

Cossack wrote:

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 I do not doubt that they had problems with her dissertation. I think I understand what happened. The faculty was unwilling to protect one of their graduate students from a sexual predator, but they were very zealous in enforcing the high standards of scholarship on the victim. A person could lose respect very quickly for people of that ilk. I guess compassion was not in vogue during that period. Perhaps they felt guilt, but wanted the person they let down to go away so they did not have to see that person and be reminded of how they failed her.

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I think you have it about right Cossack.  Fleshing out your comments--

Stamper had in effect already signed off on Williams diss  provided he got his quid pro quo,  having assured her that he'd shepherd it through.  Was this complete BS,  or could he have fulfilled his promise?  I'm inclined to believe he could have pulled it off.

Revisions were later suggested  and she made them.  Then she was shunned,  completely ignored FOR FOUR YEARS by her new committee chair  who finally brought himself to send a lame apologia.  Then he counseled her to begin the dissertation anew .  Even if her diss was completely without merit,  waiting four years to respond is indefensible.

As was pointed out earlier on this thread  and in court filings and sworn testimony,  Stamper's questionable conduct was of long standing and well known in the English department and CLA.  Although Ms. Williams was the first to publicly cast light on his sexual harassment,  he'd been given a pass by his colleagues for years without censure or consequence.  Is there anyone who sees this as anything less than appalling?

I actually think the issue of whether or not her dissertation as originally produced was meritorious is secondary to the shabby treatment she received after reporting,  through the proper channels,  an arguably criminal act perpetrated by a tenured faculty member.  There has been much talk of conspiracies on this board.  All evidence made public suggests that Davida Williams was the victim of a coverup conspiracy by the parties named in her suit,  as well as other unnamed but knowledgeable individuals within the English department who opted to look the other way while she was being abused.

Since this board is still anonymous,   I'm really hoping that someone privy to the "rest of the story" will step up to the plate and explain the failure to act  of those who should have protected and defended Ms. Williams.

stinky cheese man wrote:

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former doc student in english--i could quibble with some particulars, but i think you've summed it up pretty well. in fact, all doctoral programs would do well to learn from this case.

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SCM:

I concede that in my haste (and rekindled agitation after reading the court decision) I  over-generalized and made several assumptions about particulars of the case, some of which may be well off the mark. I should have issued a disclaimer to that effect. 

I do wish to renew my request for any additional insights that can be provided by faculty contemporaries of Dr. Stamper.

And then there's the issue of Ms. Williams' dissertation.  Consider the known facts. Her grades were superior,  her comps were passed with flying colors,  and her committee (not just Stamper) approved the dissertation prospectus.  We know that her initial submission was deemed insufficient,  which is not unusual.  Cannot one reasonably assume that given the usual and customary support and mentoring offered  doctoral candidates,  she could have  eventually produced and successfully defended her dissertation?  I'd wager that she'd have done so.

Sadly,  she was doubly abused--first by Stamper,  and then by a faculty and administration indifferent to her plight.

 

Former English Doc Student,

Thank you for your post. Until you posted, this issue was abstract, as if it had happened at another place in another time long ago. In reality, it was worse than you state for the person who was singled out, attacked, and shunned. Usually these victims are gentle souls who do not like violence and find it hard to fight back. I taught my two daughters that they should immediately go on the offensive if this happened. However, that is difficult to do for many people to do. It is doubly difficult when the victim expects that others will come to her aid, and then the victim learns that the attack is part of a group effort. We know from history that good people can sit by and allow bad things to happen to others.

Hopefully, the outcome of this case, and the subsequent discussions on this Board, will help to prevent future violations. This brings me to ask if these violations continue in that Department, that College, or this University?

It gives me hope that there have been no posts that have blamed the victim, at least directly. Remarkably, no one has yet blamed George Bush for creating this situation.

I haven't read all this thread carefully, so this might have been mentioned. Busy faculty have to be prodded to keep up with dissertations. There is so much to do that often they are put aside until the student really pushes. Did she push Dr. McCraw, who was an honorable man?

That said, what happened to her with Stamper and the administration is horrible. But what is worse is that for years all women had to endure such treatment. I think we saw the last vestiges (hopefully the last) of "this is what boys do" at USM in the late 90's. (Though I do know of the harrasser in music--though he didn't affect academics. He just made life sort of miserable.) More and more educated women are not afraid to raise hell now--thanks to people who have led the way. Lets hope the same for the uneducated ones.

I haven't read all this thread carefully, so this might have been mentioned. Busy faculty have to be prodded to keep up with dissertations. There is so much to do that often they are put aside until the student really pushes. Did she push Dr. McCraw, who was an honorable man?

He may have been an honorable man. However, honorable men do not have to be pushed to be honorable. An honorable man would have acknowledged that an evil had been perpetrated and would have gone the extra mile to atone. That is, he would have reached out to the victim and assisted her in every way to finish. It would be nice to hear that one brave soul stepped forward and supported her (other than Kim Chaze). Perhaps there were and I do not know about them. Perhaps her fellow graduate students supported her unless the conspiracy to do nothing was silently imposed on other graduate students. Perhaps some one knows.

Legal Questions wrote:

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Yet another one harrassed wrote: Thanks for standing strong, Davida!  Hope whatever amount of money that you settled for makes it a little bit easier for you. One never really ever recovers.  Weren't Stamper and several other USM profs and administrators named as co-defendants in the Williams suit?  With respect to the damage award,  is USM (actually the taxpayers of Mississippi) liable for the entire amount,  or does some of it come from the pockets of other named parties?  I'd appreciate a short tutorial on who takes the hit for paying out the cash .  It seems to me that Stamper and the others who conveniently looked the other way while this was happening should at least be co-liable for paying.  By the way,  whatever money Ms. Williams receives,  she deserves.

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YES.  Including Aubrey (aka Bowtie Man) Lucas.

Cossack wrote:

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Perhaps her fellow graduate students supported her unless the conspiracy to do nothing was silently imposed on other graduate students. Perhaps some one knows.

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I know a little about those times. We, the grad students, were generally aware of Stamper's reputation for predation and female students were warned early on via the English department underground to beware of his overtures.  Later,  after the assault, some of us learned of the Davida Williams predicament with Stamper.  Keep in mind that he was a senior faculty member and her committee chair. He was  essentially holding her dissertation hostage.  And her future. We encouraged her to report the situation to the department chair and dean,  which she did.  We had faith in the "system,"  and in the two individuals who occupied those positions.  To say that we were naive in our faith is a colossal understatement.  I'm sure you well recall your days as a graduate student,  particularly as a doctoral candidate,  when you occupied that ill-defined middle ground somewhere between lowly student and academy colleague.  It was a scary place.  What little influence you possessed was a function of your relationships with faculty.  Rocking the boat was a sure way to dissolve those relationships.  While I don't recall anyone  imposing an order of silence on us  it was certainly implicit.  It seemed as though the English faculty had closed ranks around Stamper and the message to the rest of us was pretty clear. You can imagine the chilling effect on those who may have otherwise been inclined to be vocal with our support.  I'm in another state and not attuned to the climate at USM,  aside from what I read on this board.  I truly hope it has changed for the better.

wt, you must be new to the board. That poem has been referenced many times on this board, and in fact there was a very intense debate a few months ago as to whether it was appropriate in our context. And the author is far from unknown; he was a German Lutheran pastor. I'd tell you his name, but it takes time for names to come to me and I've only had two cups of coffee so far. Give me an hour.

donald wrote:

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It seems to me that Stamper and the others who conveniently looked the other way while this was happening should at least be co-liable for paying.  By the way,  whatever money Ms. Williams receives,  she deserves.

YES.  Including Aubrey (aka Bowtie Man) Lucas.

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Does anyone happen to know if the complaint Williams filed with Wheeler and Dean Harper ever reached the desk of Dr. Lucas?  From what I've read here,  Lucas swept similar misdeeds under the carpet,  specifically those of the current USM president.  I'm just wondering if the coverup buck stops at the college and department level,  or was Lucas complicit as well?  I noticed that he wasn't a named party in her suit and wonder if that's significant.

William Odom wrote:

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wishful thinking wrote: There is a wonderful poem by an unknown author that ends "Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me."  The statement is by Martin Niemöller. Harold Marcuse has summarized his search for the "original" quote: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/niem.htm Apparently, Niemöller used this theme in a number of contexts, and changed the list of those affected from time to time.

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Thanks.  I'm just a business prof looking for a new job.  Whoever wrote it is absolutely right.  This place is really, really scary.  I don't intend to trust my future to USM.

Incredulous wrote:

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foot soldier wrote: Another old lady wrote: Busy faculty have to be prodded to keep up with dissertations. There is so much to do that often they are put aside until the student really pushes. Good Lord,  what manner of communication from a student would conform to your idea of really pushing?  I'd urge you to read the court's chronology of Williams' attempts to meet with McGraw.  Between 1990 and 1995 she wrote him numerous letters, seven to be precise,  in addition to her phone calls.  She was literally begging for an audience with him.  All her efforts were ignored until finally, after four long years,  she received a letter from McGraw averring "...let me apologize for the unconscionable lateness of this letter....I got distracted...I am sorry if I have caused you any inconvenience."   Do you find his behavior acceptable,  even for a "busy faculty" member?  Gimme a break.

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I have no idea why my post appeared twice.  I'd appreciate the Webmaster deleting the duplicate.  Thanks.

Who's On First wrote:

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From what I've read here,  Lucas swept similar misdeeds under the carpet,  specifically those of the current USM president. 

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When did this happen?  What happened to the aggrieved party?  Was she  promoted,  or  given hush money?   The more I read,  the worse this place sounds.