VUB wants to evaluate professors in a new way in the fight against 'toxic leadership'
In een poging grensoverschrijdend gedrag aan zijn universiteit te stoppen, wil VUB-rector Jan Danckaert sleutelen aan het personeelsbeleid.
A translation of the part of the article addressing toxicity: "[...]
Second remarkable statement in the summer interview: the VUB is thinking aloud about a new personnel policy in the fight against transgressive behaviour. Last year, the university opened at least five files involving intolerable behavior. The most famous case is that of Elke Van Hoof, the 'burn-out prof' whose entire team resigned because of dissatisfaction with her 'toxic leadership'.
Danckaert does not comment on Van Hoof in the conversation with BRUZZ, but nevertheless points out that some âunderestimate their impact on how they come across to younger employeesâ. That is why he also thinks âthat not all transgressive behavior is by definition intentional. Sometimes it also happens from the ambition to strive for scientific excellence.â
To relieve that pressure and stress - a common complaint among academics - Danckaert wants to tinker with the financing method. âIn the current model, someone receives funding based on the number of publications and projects. In the future, the VUB wants to assess these quantitative parameters more at group level, less at individual level. That way it becomes a collegial responsibility and a collegial process, where everyone thinks about their contribution to the whole.â
By being assessed as a group, with each member focusing on their strengths and potential weaknesses being absorbed by colleagues, the rector hopes to introduce a new leadership culture. To be clear: this is a thinking exercise at the VUB, no concrete decision yet. If Danckaert wants to succeed in his aim, he will mainly have to seek external support, from the government, from scientific funds and from companies and financing sectors."
End of translation.
Comments: From our experiences at the university, the goal of these pressured and stressed individuals is not scientific excellence but furthering their own career ahead of others', whether that undermines the scientific excellence of the project or not. They are, as the statement implies, hugely pressured by their superiors and in great competition with their peers; they are not blinded in the pursuit of scientific excellence. If this action does ever happen we are hopeful it will change the culture at the university in the long term. So far still only empty placation from the university, though, with such heavy caveats on whether these changes are possible in the first place.
Also, as always we would like to see something done about the seemingly overt and accepted culture of sexual harassment and sexualization of students at the VUB. This seems to get lumped into transgressive behaviour, which (purposefully?) erases/de-emphasizes the sexual nature of most of the harassment that happens at the university.
Unlike most universities, the VUB does not have a policy against professors dating their current students. Adding this to their regulations would be a simple step that would protect students' academic experience and achievements. As it is now, students have no protection from sexual predation from professors; there is literally no recourse because it is not against any regulations. Complainants against Dries Tys were repeatedly told that he did not break university policy and the students had probably misinterpreted or overreacted to the situation. They were put into in-person one-on-one mediation with Tys and asked if they were sure they hadn't misunderstood. This in regards to a man who had dated students in the past, married one of his students, and continued to date students afterwards. Obviously the complainants just misunderstood his excitement for scientific excellence, though, right?
The problem continues: the VUB has purposefully tied its hands behind its back when it comes to the safety of its students.
