Another devastated academic, Reader's Comment, 11 July 2011, Bullying at Work, H

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Another devastated academic, Reader's Comment, 11 July 2011, Bullying at Work, Hagar Cohen, Background Briefing, ABC Radio, 10 July 2011 http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2011/3257688.htm Historical link preserved from the original page.

James Cook University: bullying and nepotism "rife".

I currently work for James Cook University and the bullying and nepotism is rife.

If you speak up you are ostracized from the team through to the department you work for, your career is finished.

The lying from the upper levels through to middle management is horrendous.

These people have been bullying and protecting their own jobs, that is how these managers have survived working there because they have all been there for over 20+ years each.

Anonymous of Townsville, Reader's Comment 63 of 92, Workplace bullies may face jail in Queensland as laws strengthened, Renee Viellaris, The Courier-Mail, 10 July 2011: http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/workplace-bullies-may-face-jail-in-queensland-as-laws-strengthened/comments-e6freqmx-1226091399229 Historical link preserved from the original page.

The University of Newcastle: 15 - 20 people from the university have allegedly attempted suicide.

I believe I was bullied out of the University of Newcastle for being a whistle blower.

The University of course denies it.

When I was taken by ambulance to a hospital after a failed suicide attempt in my office, I was told 15-20 other people from the University had been brought in in the same condition for the same reasons by two different psychiatrists.

All I could think was - will it take a successful suicide for something to be done?

Probably.

Michelle Adams, Bullying at Work, Hagar Cohen, Background Briefing, ABC Radio, 10 July 2011 http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2011/3257688.htm Historical link preserved from the original page.

Macquarie University: six former staff demand an official apology from vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz.

Six former Macquarie University staff have demanded an official apology from vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz for the university's failure to act on claims of victimisation and bullying.

The claims were subsequently found to be justified by an Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry.

In an open letter sent yesterday, the six former staff also called for further action on other recommendations in the ICAC report, including addressing a chaotic staffing regime at the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism headed by former NSW police minister Peter Anderson.

The letter reflects the frustration of former staff that their complaints have been largely ignored, even after the scathing findings of the ICAC-commissioned inquiry.

The report criticised Professor Anderson for contributing to the bullying and victimisation, as well as for appointing people with Labor connections without meeting selection criteria, for claiming inappropriate expenses and for being less than frank in his explanations to the inquiry.

Bullied Macquarie University staff demand an apology, Mike Steketee, The Australian, 23 March 2011: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/bullied-macquarie-university-staff-demand-an-apology/story-e6frgcjx-1226026324971 Historical link preserved from the original page.

Macquarie University Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism: "For an academic environment, it was a most shocking experience. "

Peter Anderson, the director of Macquarie University's Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism ( PICT ), is a former NSW Labor police minister, health minister and aspiring premier.

His 16 years in state parliament from 1978 gave him plenty of exposure to an institution known as the bearpit.

After parliament, Anderson tried his hand at radio broadcasting and political consultancy, and picked up some government appointments, including to the NSW Police Board, the Darling Harbour Authority Board and the NSW Tow Truck Industry Council.

Then, in 2006, Macquarie University chose him as director of PICT, bestowed on him the title of honorary professor and gave him other privileges outside university rules, including business class international travel.

For an academic environment, it was the most shocking experience, " says Alfred Gerstl, an Austrian appointed as a lecturer at Macquarie University's Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism.

"My jaw was constantly dropping, " adds Greg Pemberton, a senior academic at the centre, known as PICT.

Nine of the 12 PICT staff took their complaints up through the university hierarchy, culminating in two letters to vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz.

Eight of the nine resigned.

The ninth complainant did not have her contract renewed.

The university's response?

The university administration referred the complaints back to Anderson, who dismissed them as malcontents.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption took the issue more seriously.

It referred complaints lodged by the academics back to Macquarie University and ordered it to commission an independent investigation, at the same time making clear it treated the complaints as a protected disclosure to prevent reprisals.

This investigation resulted in a report that adds up to a damning indictment of how PICT operated and leaves disturbing questions about political influence and the supposedly jealously guarded independence of universities.

Macquarie and its 'malcontents' under scrutiny, Mike Steketee, The Australian, 9 March 2011: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/macquarie-and-its-malcontents-under-scrutiny/story-e6frgcjx-1226017971156 Historical link preserved from the original page.

The University of Newcastle: academic alleges that she reported plagarism in 2003 - then suffered years of harassment.

The University of Newcastle has agreed to cover the medical costs of an academic who claimed she suffered years of bullying and harassment at work that led to a psychological illness.

Dr Michelle Adams, a Newcastle University academic, reported plagiarism in 2003.

Dr Adams says that she then suffered years of harassment.

Following the allegation Dr Adams said she was treated like a "leper", frozen out of communication with colleagues, bullied in meetings and the hostility got so bad she was afraid to enter the staffroom.

In the end I feared going to work and there were times when I would just break down and cry, " she said.

It has gone on for so long that it is hard to remember what life was like before all of this.

It took the University of Newcastle more than five years to investigate her allegation.

Last year two staff members were counselled regarding "acceptable publication practices".

Newcastle uni bully claims: Academic says harassment led to illness, Donna Page, The Herald, 17 March 2010: http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/news/general/newcastle-uni-bully-claims-academic-says-harassment-led-to-illness/1778091.aspx Historical link preserved from the original page.

Staff and students back Newcastle University bully claims, Donna Page, The Herald, 18 March 2010: http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/news/general/staff-and-students-back-newcastle-university-bully-claims/1779490.aspx? page=2 Historical link preserved from the original page.

Newcastle University: academic forced to leave the university following a "major breakdown" due to years of workplace bullying.

A former geographer, who worked in the same Newcastle University faculty as Dr Michelle Adams, told The Herald that she was forced to leave the university following a "major breakdown" due to years of bullying.

The woman, who signed a confidentiality agreement when she left, said the university had a history of "eliminating people who report misconduct because they do not want it exposed".

I felt very isolated and bullied throughout the whole thing.

The University of Newcastle: academic Stuart Pearson says it was a weight off his shoulders when he left the university.

Former Newcastle University academic, Stuart Pearson, described what he witnessed at the university as "vicious" and "dysfunctional".

He chose to leave rather than put up with bullying.

When you leave you realise just what the place is like, it's like a weight lifts off your shoulders, " he said.

The University of Newcastle: academics allege that cliques and bullying are part of the university's culture.

Two academics who work at Newcastle University, said cliques and bullying were part of the institution's culture and had been for a long time.

The academics said that people with dissenting voices were hounded into submission or bullied out.

In so many cases the bullies are actually rewarded for their actions and when staff see this happening it creates a culture of fear, " one said.

The University of Newcastle branch of the National Tertiary Education Union and Newcastle University Student Union said there was a "large volume" of cases in which staff and students reported ongoing bullying and harassment on campus.

The funding cuts over the past couple of decades have forced Australian universities to take on below-par students. Historical link preserved from the original page.

Australian university students have been bullying the lecturers for years. Historical link preserved from the original page.

And it is not just the students, it’s the powers that be doing it as well with their “you can’t fail our international students, they’re worth too much and if they fail it causes them issues with their student visa and we lose their income. Remark all their assessment pieces for the semester so that they get a pass mark”.

It happens - with alarming regularity.

We’re asked to ignore blatant cases of plagiarism, remark 300 exams to make sure the average grade is 70% despite half the class failing due to tutorial attendance figures being around 20%, conveniently forced to ignore “spelling mistakes” - yeah here’s a newsflash, sulphate is NOT the same as sulphide, because we’re “not testing English in a science class”.

Standards are dropping. With the funding cuts over the last couple of decades which forced universities to rely on full-fee paying international students for financial survival, they’ve been forced to take on below-par students just to make up the funding shortfalls. Maybe if the government actually bothered to rectify this funding situation, this problem could be significantly reduced by again only taking on the best of the best.