Should I take threats from a former professor seriously?

Question

Some Context:

A member of my MA thesis committee, for whom I was also a GA (graduate assistant), threatened me several times while I was still in my masters program (last year). For example, she threatened to fire me from my GA position with them-- which, in fact, she cannot do (only the department head can remove a GA from their position). When she realized she had no power to fire me, she threatened not to write me letters of rec for doctoral programs. She tried to pressure me into promoting her from reader to thesis chair on my thesis committee. I was very afraid of her at the time because she was my work supervisor, my professor (I was taking a class with her at the time), and a reader on my thesis committee.

I was afraid she would diminish my reputation in the department, give me a bad grade in her class, delay my graduation by holding up the thesis process, and not write me any letters of recommendation or worse, write me a bad letter of recommendation for a doctoral program. I did not stand up for myself or for others to whom she was abusive until I graduated last summer; I saw her retaliate against other students (primarily through grades and intradepartmental reputation) and I felt sure she could carry out some of her threats toward me. She bragged to me and other students that she successfully reduced the scholarly reputation of an academic at another institution whom she said was 'inauthentic.' Shortly before graduating, I did leave a record with the Ombuds of her treatment of me.

Now: I asked her to write a letter of rec for one of my PhD apps because I was afraid she'd be insulted if I didn't ask her for a single one (this is probably ridiculous, I know). I was accepted to that program and have decided to go there. However, this professor continues to be hostile toward me. In a recent email, she told me she had "just spoken to" the graduate adviser of the program I will attend in the fall, and implied that she speaks to this adviser regularly as if they are friends (somehow I think she's lying). Because of a pattern of behavior, I recognized that she still wants me to be afraid of her. I am loathe to admit that it's working, I think primarily out of ignorance of how academic/institutional relationships truly function (tempted to play the First Gen card here).

Question: Are such inter-institutional threats actionable, i.e. how likely is it that faculty at one institution can influence faculty at another institution in order to negatively affect the reputation of a student?

Please note: The question is not, "Is this professor a bad person?" or anything to that effect.

If this question is too individualized, I will take it down. I feel like I can't be the only one who has experienced/is experiencing a situation like this. I would appreciate generalizable advice (e.g. across disciplines, types of academic relationships), especially from academics who have gone through similar situations.

Answer 1

This sounds terrible, and like you said, I definitely think asking her to write a letter of rec was a mistake. However, regardless of whether she tried to sabotage you or not, you've been admitted! Congratulations.

Now is the time to sever all contact with her and move on.

You left a record with your previous university about your issues with her, and if she was going to create problems at your new school I really think it would have come before you were admitted, especially since she was a letter writer. Whatever she did or did not say, they gave you a big vote of confidence in offering you a place. Time to focus on the next stage.

Good luck!

Answer 2

First of all, if these actions can be (or already are) documented, start a case on that professor. This is mobbing, and breaking a few global ethical rules.

Asking her for a reference letter was a mistake, but it is not un-recoverable.

Personally, I do not believe she would have major effects on your status of acceptance. Academics get to know a lot of people and they are aware of these kind of people in academia. Hence, they will not judge you by only one letter of reference.

If, on the other hand, an institution judges you by a single negative letter of reference, then I (again personally) would doubt the credibility of the programme. There are many ways to get to know a potential PhD student, such as reading your work, Skype interview, face-to-face interview, talking to your references on the phone etc. Taking a decision regarding to a single reference letter is not very professional. Another possibility is that the institute might have already decided not to hire you, and they might use the letter as an excuse to dismiss your application.

It is true that there might be some cases where an institution can interfere with your reputation, but those cases are either documented, or reported unanimously.

As a result, if I were you, I would

• Press charges both legally and academically.
• Ignore the person during my application period,
• Avoid mentioning her to my potential supervisors unless I am asked.

I had a similar case where a project supervisor claimed that he "hired me despite all the negative feedback from my superiors." Ended up getting nothing but a decrease in his reputation.

Answer 3

If this person is as bad as you say this will be well known, and she is probably less influential than she thinks.

My advice is from now, just ignore her. Don't read or reply to a single email from her. Set an email filter to delete her emails before you see them if it really bothers you and get on with your life. She'll soon be a distant memory.

Alternatively, why not deliberately foster a strong enmity, having an enemy you can righteously work against can be a great motivator in life, and provide much entertainment, provided you like this kind of thing.

Answer 4

"She repeatedly pressured me to take her classes, make her my thesis chair, become her graduate assistant, etc. etc. I never picked up on anything sexual."

There was some initial confusion about the type of pressure, but that has now been clarified -- thanks.

Questions: (1) Are such inter-institutional threats actionable? (2) How likely is it that faculty at one institution can influence faculty at another institution in order to negatively affect the reputation of a student?

(1) You can check your university's code of conduct and policies, but even if they were actionable, since you'll be leaving soon, I'd recommend that you simply cut off any future communications with this professor, and look forward to being in a different department soon.

(2) We can't possibly predict the behavior of this professor, nor the reaction of the new department were this professor to actually contact them, but I would advise you to inform your department chair what's going on. Surely s/he will instruct the professor not to contact the new department.

Related to the above, I recommend that you make a clean, complete break in communications with the professor. Here are the basic action steps needed, as I see it:

1. Inform your department head that you are uncomfortable receiving any communications from this prof. Provide three concrete examples of harassment. Include email quotes if possible. Leave out the background info and make it very simple. Ideally, the department head will let the prof know that communication from her would not be welcome. If not, send one short email to the prof with this statement, and don't read her response (see next step).

2. As someone else suggested, set up a filter to block incoming email from the prof. Since she might try to play mind games with you, but since you might need to have a record of future messages from her, forward all incoming mail from her to a trusted friend (without it ever hitting your inbox). But ask your friend to simply archive the messages without sharing them with you, unless there's something alarming coming in.

3. (This step is optional) Telephone the graduate advisor in your upcoming department and calmly explain, e.g. "Prof. XX in my department told me she has been contacting you with negative remarks about me. I've informed my department head, Prof. YY, and made him/her aware of the situation. In case Prof. XX contacts you, I wanted to give you a heads-up." This is not something to say over email. If you have trouble reaching him or her, try to leave a message with a secretary, or in the worst case, write a brief email requesting a phone appointment, and mention several chunks of time when you'll be able to take a call and speak discreetly. Again, keep your tone very neutral and leave all the emotions out of it.

At the same time, get discreet support, perhaps through your university counseling service, perhaps through a relationship safety group in your town, perhaps with your closest friends. But be discreet in your department. If you need to leave the room when she walks in, just quietly discover a need to visit the bathroom.

Answer 5

As other already told: They are toxic and there is no chance it will be any better for anyone else but them. On the other hand there is innegligible chance it will be even worse for you.

Step one: Document them. You, your schoolmates, document the behaviour. The last email itself is good evidence to sent them in between their limits.

Step two: Report them. By yourself or as a herd of students. Start serious debate within your school about their behaviour. If asked why the reference from this professor, you can show them the email. Maybe, this would be a painful backfire for them.

Be ready to face consequences; as a backup plan look for another research group to work with, just in case...

Answer 6

Four things:

You didn't say why she threatened you. If you killed her cat or you tried to abuse one of her other students, the discussion would be a lot different :) Or did she threaten you in an effort to steal your work? Sorry for the crude examples, but some mention of the reason/excuse is very crucial here.

Second, I am really sorry to say that several of the comments seem to come from people without much contact with academia. In the vast majority of cases, being a horrible person is not a disadvantage for being a professor. And if a person has been acting like this for a long time, it means that they have the power to do so.

This brings me to the third point: Other professors will never challenge such a person, but they might want to actively avoid them. I think first you'd better try to figure out if she has any contact with your current advisors through indirect indications, such as smalltalk or other. But as other answers say, they accepted you so the hardest part is over - and remember that nobody will fail a good worker only because of the drama of some other institute's staff.

Last, and perhaps more useful, I strongly think you should edit your question to add that you will continue interacting with her because of your subfield, as you wrote in some comment, because this is your main problem. (Unless she just relaxes and forgets about you being her hobby, of course. It really can happen.) And the answer to this problem is: your PhD group is your new academic family. They will support, protect you and promote your work in your subfield. So, please focus on them, and keep contact with the previous prof at a minimum and within the social norms.

It's one more horrible story, but at least I feel glad that SE can now bring these discussions into the open.

Answer 7

OP's comment revealed that severing communication will not remove the abuser from OP's life.

With this in mind, it is crucial that you get some influential person on your side who is aware of the situation, and agrees that a) the abuser wrongly did what you accuse them of, and b) who is both willing and able to back you up in the future, and who will be believed over the abuser.

As others said, acquire evidence if at all possible. As soon as you have an ally in mind (such as a thesis advisor or department head at your new program), and have built up a good working relationship with them, I would recommend bringing it up. I would not suggest bringing this up with the potential ally until you have built a favorable relationship.

If ignoring the abuser would guarantee that you have no further contact with them, then that is a good course of action. If, however, you are likely to come into proximity again (at a conference, or you may work with the abuser's colleagues in the future), then you need to tell someone. Good luck.