A new faculty conduct policy regarding harassment was proposed recently to Iowa State’s Faculty Senate, and members are getting both positive and negative feedback on its content.

“I’m hearing strong debate for and against the policy,” said Chris Schilling, secretary of the Faculty Senate.

The policy explicitly states what qualifies as misconduct and the various methods to deal with problems, said Schilling, associate professor of materials science and engineering.

The three areas categorized as misconduct are personal, academic and professional, he said, and there are two basic options given to the people involved: They can agree to handle it as an informal process or choose to write a formal complaint.

If the formal action plan is taken, a hearing committee would be formed, and it would take the necessary action.

“The first question that is raised is if it’s victim-friendly enough,” Schilling said. “The second question raised is if the policy itself is too cumbersome.”

Jack Girton, conduct policy committee chairman, said there are two main differences between the current policy and the proposed one.

“The new policy sets out a strict timeline for actions to be taken if a faculty member is charged with an offense,” said Girton, professor of zoology and genetics.

The provost would set up a hearing committee to make sure due process is granted for the accused, he said.

The second change is to present the case to a peer review committee in a formal hearing.

“We would have a faculty panel to hold the hearing and listen to the charges and the evidence,” Girton said. “Peer review is a big thing in academia, and we thought that would be a good thing to have in.”

The draft also proposes the informal hearing procedure be expanded to work the problem out between the accuser and the accused without publicity.

“A lot of these cases could be in effect settled privately by an agreement,” Girton said.

If the accused faculty member is found guilty, a recommendation is made to the university president, who then will impose a sanction. This aspect is the same, Girton said.

Virginia Allen, associate professor of English, said she is concerned about the polarized thinking the policy creates. She said she does not feel the policy is necessarily good or bad right now, but she is concerned about how it might be implemented.

“However nicely written, if administration doesn’t follow through with the policy, there is no point in having it,” she said.

Allen said when the naming of Catt Hall was an issue, the primary complaint was not in the naming process itself, but rather in how the students who were voicing their opinions were treated.

Girton said during the three years he served as chairman of the judicial and appeals committee, he dealt with 62 cases of harassment. The University of Iowa had 300 last year, he said.

“If this [policy] was working, we could easily have 30 to 40 cases per year,” Girton said.

Schilling said now is the time for students to review the document and respond to faculty with thoughts and opinions on the matter. The draft can be viewed online at www.public.iastate.edu/~aaup/.