Speaker to explore responses to toxic behavior in academia
February 5, 2016
The associate director of the University of Alaska Anchorage's Center for Advancing
Faculty Excellence will visit UAF on Feb. 23 for two discussions of bullying and toxic
behavior in university departments.
Libby Roderick will talk and show a UAA-developed video on the topic from 12:30-2:30
p.m. in Rasmuson 340 and from 3–5 p.m. in the Murie Building auditorium.
A recent survey of UAA faculty and staff showed widespread concern about academic
bullying and a perception that the university system needs to respond more effectively
to reports of toxic behavior within departments.
Bullying and toxic behavior in the workplace are hot topics across the nation. Universities
across the country are exploring a range of responses. They include additional language
in mission, union and hiring documents; departmental codes of conduct; and a collegiality
criterion in promotion, tenure and hiring decisions.
In 2014, UAA faculty and staff worked with a scriptwriter to develop an interactive
theater piece that explores some of the ways academic bullying can affect the dynamics
within a department. From this, they produced the video “Toxic Friday,” which Roderick
will show at the Fairbanks meetings.
No registration is necessary. For more information, contact UAF’s Office of Faculty
Development at 474-5055 or email Joy Morrison, the director, at jfmorrison@alaska.edu.