On Friday, April 18, Dean Aleks Sternfeld-Dunn of the College of Arts and Sciences, along with Assistant Dean of Students Ashley Fritz, held a forum for English students to discuss the recent table-flipping incident that occurred on election day.
Following that incident, Professor Jose Alvergué, who was chair of the department, was placed on administrative leave. Professor Paul Kaldjian of the Department of Art and Design is serving as interim chair for the remainder of the semester.
Roughly 10-15 English students attended the forum in Centennial Hall Friday morning to hear from the two faculty members and to offer up their own questions.
Sternfeld-Dunn prefaced the discussion by saying due to the fact that this is an ongoing case, he may not be able to answer a number of the questions brought forward.
“Because this is still active, I can’t share anything that would put anyone at risk of unfair process,” Sternfield-Dunn said. “It’s not fair to students — it’s not fair to José.”
Third-year language arts education student Sophia Curran-Moore asked whether there is anything students can do to support professor Alvergue during this time. Fritz said unless an individual was directly involved with the incident, the most students can do at this time is write letters of support for Alvergue.
Additionally, Sternfeld-Dunn added, for those looking to let Alvergue himself know they support him, emails and personal letters could also be sent out.
Third-year English education and creative writing student Maggie O’Brien asked whether the UW-Eau Claire College Republicans or any school-affiliated group are required to restrict comments and hate speech on their social media pages.
Fritz said the College Republicans are not required to restrict their comment sections on platforms like Instagram, but that the group has been asked numerous times to do so.
The students had some additional inquiries about how the case is being handled within the university. While Sternfeld-Dunn said he couldn’t disclose exactly what was playing out in regards to the specific case, he could outline the Universities of Wisconsin protocol for this kind of incident.
“When an accusation is made against a faculty member that is found to be credible, usually what comes is a formal complaint, which needs to be investigated,” Sternfield-Dunn said. “How that’s investigated and who investigates it depends on a wide range of factors.”
Sternfield-Dunn said typically, investigations are made based on the severity and nature of the complaint. For specific issues like racial discrimination or sexual harassment, the university has special offices designated to address the complaints.
“More and more, we are asking the UW System to be the investigators of incidents that are of a serious nature,” Sternfield-Dunn said. “It is not uncommon for the faculty member in question to be put on leave of absence while the investigation is being done.”
According to Sternfield-Dunn, the investigative process is a multi-faceted affair. Investigators from the Universities of Wisconsin begin by questioning witnesses and anyone who may have been involved in the incident.
After collecting and verifying each person’s story, they share the information with the person who received the complaint. Typically, complaints are issued to higher-ups like the dean, the provost or the chancellor.
When they are presented with the compiled information, the receiver of the complaint has three options: they can dismiss, they can elevate the complaint to the next person up, or they can choose to administer a wide range disciplinary actions — anywhere from a note in their file to termination.
If disciplinary action is taken, the faculty member who was the subject of the complaint has the right to file a grievance against the action. This grievance would be sent to a randomly-selected faculty grievance committee.
If the grievance committee agrees with the action, the chancellor is the final arbiter in the decision-making process. If the chancellor agrees with the disciplinary action, the faculty member can still file a grievance to the Board of Regents and, if they are terminated, they can file a lawsuit against the university in court.
If the disciplinary action is termination, the issue must be brought to the Board of Regents after being looked over by the chancellor.
“When it comes to an ultimate, total resolution on the issue, it could take anywhere from weeks to months to years,” Sternfeld-Dunn said.
At this time, Sternfield-Dunn said he cannot share what step in the process the system is at following the incident on election day. He added, however, that the case is being addressed in the traditional manner.
“We all have the right to safety and compassion, and as a dean I try to lead with empathy,” Sterfeld-Dunn said. “We all have the responsibility to set an example in regards to how we might confront difficult things. My big plea to all of you is to lead with compassion in any situation.”
After the forum, Lila Grottke, a second-year history and English student, said the forum was very informative.
“I was just curious what they’d say, to be honest,” Grottke said. “I’m quite content with how everything’s shaping out. When it first happened, I was very surprised, but I’ve had time to think and I’m also very happy that it’s being handled through a third party with the UW System.”
Wojahn can be reached at [email protected].
