The author serves as the chair of the American Association of University Professors' (AAUP) Assembly of State Conferences, the umbrella organization for individual state AAUP conferences; a moderator for Pandora's Project, a website for survivors of sexual abuse and assault; a volunteer for Veronica's Voice, a support program for women and girls…

It is suggested that college teachers are in a position of substantial power with students because of the nature of their work, and that the traditional taboo on sexual relationships with students has less to do with morality than with the effectiveness of teaching and the mentor relationship. (MSE)

Attempts to generalize about sexual harassment on campus by examining narrative examples of selected cases through media coverage, interviews, or official documents, only to learn that those whose jobs it is to work with sexual harassment cases find there are no fixed rules. Sees need for due process, clearer institutional policies, better…

AAUP guidelines on establishing institutional policy and procedures for handling sexual harassment complaints are outlined. Sexual harassment is defined and procedures for both bringing and resolving a complaint are suggested. (MSE)

A 1992 conference on the status of minorities in higher education is summarized. Issues addressed include speech codes on college campuses, sexual harassment and power, minority scholarships, equal access to higher education under the law, and the need to redress both current inequities and the cumulative effect of discrimination in education.…

A policy proscribing the formation of intimate faculty-student relationships within the instructional context--namely, when the faculty member supervises the student's academic work--would maintain the integrity of the institution's academic mission while safeguarding the privacy interests of faculty members and students. (MLW)

Examines current law on sexual harassment as it applies to higher education, asking what colleges/universities should be doing to review and update policies and procedures, and noting that while sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination, not all harassing conduct is necessarily discriminatory. Law and campus harassment policies must…

A feminist educator discusses contradictions, inconsistencies, and inadequacies in college policies concerning sexual harassment. It is argued that the fundamental question is whether women students are taken seriously, not whether sexuality enters into the relationship between students and teachers. (MSE)

Exception is taken to language proposed for a university's sexual-harassment policy, arguing that anything vitiating privacy must have strong, readily apparent benefit for the common good; that students cannot be stripped of their ability to make choices; and that teachers' decisions about consensual sex must be made in context of their own…

Examines ethos of sexual relations between students and faculty members, particularly as it relates to female students and professors. The discussion covers university policies, the imbalance of power and a betrayal of trust, opposition to and benefits of regulations, student-initiated relationships, professorial authority, gender and cultural…

Notes the contradiction between the growing body of academic research in gay and lesbian studies and the fact that gay and lesbian faculty members remain second-class citizens in academe as well as in American political culture. Examines such issues as political activism and academic study; discrimination in the workplace; domestic partner…

The emergence of lesbian and gay studies as legitimate academic fields has opened a political debate. Scholars face charges that their research lacks rigor; blurring of the civil rights issue by alignment with racial/ethnic minorities is another obstacle. It is argued that without administrator, faculty, and student support, these studies are at…