The violence wasn't physical, but it was total. It was the silencing of a voice. It was the theft of a career built over decades. It was the gaslighting of a professional into believing he was incompetent. And it was all perfectly legal, signed, sealed, and delivered in a Portable Document Format.
Elias stood up and walked to the window. The campus below was quiet, the manicured lawns and ivy-covered walls looking peaceful in the moonlight. It was a beautiful façade for an ugly machinery.
His hands hovered over the keyboard.
Studies consistently show that bullying is more prevalent in academia than in the corporate world. academic violence and bullying of faculty pdf
Studies suggest that a significant proportion of faculty members experience bullying or harassment in the workplace. A 2019 survey conducted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) found that nearly 40% of faculty members reported experiencing bullying or harassment during their careers. Another study published in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management estimated that approximately 25% of faculty members experience workplace bullying.
Bullying in academia is often driven by hierarchical structures and relational conflicts.
The notification pinged at 11:42 PM on a Friday. The violence wasn't physical, but it was total
he typed.
The Documented Harm
He sat back down. He opened a blank word document. He knew the protocol. To fight this, he had to engage in the same violence. He had to write a counter-report. He had to cite the handbook. He had to gather his own PDFs—emails, syllabi, student evaluations from years prior. He had to enter the arena of paperwork warfare. It was the gaslighting of a professional into
The impact of academic violence and bullying on faculty members can be severe, leading to:
Elias took a breath. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a breakdown. He would turn the violence back on itself. He would write the truth, footnote by footnote, until the PDF bled.
This wasn’t the bullying of the schoolyard. There were no wedgies or stolen lunch money. This was the bureaucratization of cruelty. This was violence disguised as "quality assurance."
: A significant study found that 63.4% of faculty identified colleagues as the primary source of bullying, while 52.9% of frontline staff identified superiors.
“Did you get the attachment? I heard they’re coming for your tenure review next month. Watch your back.”