Over the last 2 years, two Professors have been dismissed at Leiden University because of serious bullying or coercive behaviour. They are Prof Tim de Zeeuw (astronomy) and Prof Corinne Hofman (archaeology)
In the case of Prof Hofman, Leiden University itself broke the news that ‘a professor and their partner had engaged in years of intimidation, discrimination, manipulation, and shouting, laughing at and mocking staff, PhD candidates and students, among other things’. The misconduct took place between 1990 and 2023 and that there were 19 complainants, both current and former staff & students.
In the case of Prof de Zeeuw, Leiden University concluded that there was ‘a systematic pattern of slander, abuse of power, gender discrimination, public humiliation and the constant threat of damage to the complainants’ professional careers. The Professor also made ‘sexually-charged’ comments and, in one instance, the committee found that he had made ‘unwanted physical approaches’ to an employee. Again there were multiple complainants and the abuse happened over decades. The process was started by complaints from 4 graduate students.
Both Professors were very distinguished. Prof Corinne Hofman is a Fellow of the British Academy (still is, it seems, but then the UK is very tolerant of abusive Professors). Prof Tim de Zeeuw is a former Director-General of the European Southern Observatory and the winner of many scientific awards & prizes.
This is all very remarkable.
Not the bullying or abuse. That is unfortunately commonplace in academia. What is very remarkable is that Leiden University have acted to dismiss two very distinguished Professors. It would never happen in the UK.
It has happened because of the structure of Leiden University, which is organized very differently to UK Universities.
In Leiden University, the Head of Department reports to the Dean of Faculty. Leiden University has seven faculties in the arts, sciences and social science. The Deans report to the Management Board. The Management Board reports to the Executive Board (composed of 3 people, chaired by Prof Annette Ottow). The Executive Board reports to the Board of Governors.
The chair and members of the Board of Governors (only one of whom is nominated by the University) are appointed, suspended and dismissed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Board of Governors has an independent position at the University. It is accountable to the Minister, not to the University.
The decisions to dismiss the two Professors were taken by the Executive Board, backed by the Board of Governors.
UK Universities are organised very differently. There is no analogue of the Board of Governors that provides independent scrutiny of decision making by the Executive. The power structure in UK universities stops at the Executive Board (which has powers roughly corresponding to the Vice Chancellor and his/her team).
It is just so much easier to hush up wrongdoing in UK Universities. There is little or no external scrutiny.
4 Comments
Anon · 23 June 2024 at 04:58
Good on Leiden; very impressive. Wouldn’t it be brilliant (though unlikely) if the system they have in place over there could be applied to university governance across the board in the UK?
I suspect that even the slimmest chance of losing the title of professor and a prestigious position at a university would be an effective deterrent against at least some perpetrators engaging in bullying. Ultimately, what emboldens these people is the knowledge that—within the current system—they can quite easily get away with it and never be held accountable.
That said, I do wonder how effective this would be in cases of mobbing, where the behavior is less overt, more subtle, leaves fewer traces, and may have started with just one individual or a couple but eventually becomes a collective dynamic enabled by an institution’s pathological organizational culture.
Also, I’m honestly not surprised that in one of the cases, the perpetrators were a couple, as there are all too many of these ‘power couples’ in academia. From what I’ve seen, the more arrogant and pathological of the two (typically the man) will be the one engaging in the bullying or mobbing, while the more astute and politically aware partner (usually, though not always, the woman) will be the one diligently trying to cover it up and clean up their mess.
I’m not sure how common the other dynamic is of both partners actively involved in the bullying and mobbing of students and staff, but I’ve heard of it happening. Incidentally, there was a similar case to Leiden in archaeology across the pond with some really extreme and troubling outcomes for targets, but justice did eventually prevail once the situation had been exposed.
21percent.org · 23 June 2024 at 20:38
The observation about `power couples’ is very interesting.
There have been a number of high profile examples in universities of one or both partners in a couple engaged in bullying. In fact, this includes both the Leiden University examples, as Prof de Zeeuw is married to another astronomer on the faculty.
In a small department of say 15 tenured staff, a ‘power couple’ can easily come to dominate & wield excessive influence.
Departments are often under pressure to hire couples because of the ‘two-body problem’ . But, it can have unpredictable & dangerous consequences if not careful.
Anon · 25 June 2024 at 20:46
Very worrying that Professor de Zeeuw’s wife was part of the faculty, and as just another example of many of a ‘power couple,’ it’s disturbing how prevalent these sorts of power dynamics seem to be in higher-ed. I wonder if she participated in his bullying campaigns or took on a more passive, though no less destructive, role in covering up for him and playing politics.
Absolutely, and it’s kind of terrifying how long these people are allowed to get away with this kind of behavior, considering that the Leiden case took three decades to address (I’m glad they finally did, though). I don’t know if this was the case in Leiden, but in some fields, the power and influence wielded by a ‘power couple’ and their enablers within the academic hierarchy—often a head of school (which underscores the need for widespread adoption of a board of governor-type system like Leiden)—can extend well beyond an institution and into the world of non-profits, other scientific institutions, and internationally. This makes challenges like retaliation against targets and whistleblowers all the more likely, harder to prove, and difficult to tackle.
I know it’s probably quite a lot to hope for, but what do you think the chances are of a system like the Board of Governors at Leiden being implemented within some or all UK universities to improve accountability and address systemic issues like harassment, bullying, and mobbing?
Bullying and the British Academy - 21percent.org · 25 August 2024 at 18:53
[…] recently — as we have blogged earlier — the University of Leiden has found two Professors guilty of serious offences. Both were Fellows of learned societies. The astronomer Prof Tim […]