700 staff at the Leuven Catholic University (KU Leuven) have signed an open letter to rector Luc Sels demanding that he take action following revelations about the abusive behaviour of one of the university’s professors.
The “Pano” exposé, aired by Flemish TV channel VRT, alleged that the university professors abused their power to create a toxic work environment, which negatively impacted the mental health of several victims.
The program alleges that 14 doctoral students from KU Leuven had spoken up about the behaviour of one of the university’s professors. The staff member in question is alleged to have repeated sexist remarks, sent sexual material to students and made inappropriate advances.
But the cases now seem to be just the tip of the iceberg. University staff are now voicing their discontent with the university principal.
“As a result of the Pano documentary on abuse of power, we, as employees of KU Leuven, want to respond to this,” a letter posted by KU Leuven’s staff reads. “Many of us have experienced directly and indirectly the suffering of students and colleagues from this unacceptable behaviour at work.”
Not only Leuven
In another case of abuse investigated at the University of Ghent, rector Rik Van de Walle opened up a hotline for affected students, taking full responsibility for the actions of the lecturers. In response to the scandal, the Dean of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering announced his retirement.
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Leuven university staff have expressed dissatisfaction with Sels' response to the scandal and requested that more be done for students. So far, the university rector has only issued a response in writing.
“We need concrete actions, not empty words,” the letter says. If a proper investigation does not take place, the 700 university staff worry that it will make victims “even less inclined to denounce abusive or unacceptable behaviour.”
