Problem with OLLI at Temple President

CARE Team: (Crisis Assessment, Response, and Education Team)

Introduction

Temple University's CARE Team is a multi-disciplinary body of stakeholders from across the University which receives

referrals pertaining to students of concern, collects additional information, and then identifies and enacts appropriate strategies for addressing the situation.

The CARE Team is not for emergencies.

Care Team Members

• Campus Safety - • Dean of Students - • Disability Resources & Services - • Faculty – (Social Work)• Student Conduct & Community Standards – • Student Health Services - • Tuttleman Counseling Services - • Undergraduate Studies - • University Counsel - • University Housing & Residential Life -

What Care Team Does

• CARE Team will first collect available information pertaining to the student and the situation from multiple sources in order to determine the most appropriate course of action. The CARE Team’s role is to determine effective strategies for addressing the concern and identifying the responsible parties for enacting those strategies.

What can be reported to the CARE Team

The CARE Team collects information on observable behavior such as:

• Unusual or erratic behavior in class, in the residence halls, during advising sessions, etc.

• Extended absence from class or activities by a typically engaged student

• Written work or creative expression with troubling themes or references

• Verbal or written threats made by a student toward another student, faculty, or staff

• Written or verbal expressions of suicidal ideation or intent• Other actions which cause an alarm or call into question the safety of

the student or their peers.

What Happens Next

The student you refer will be given the support and assistance they need by University and community resources. The primary purpose of the team is to offer strategies for mitigating emergent or crisis situations involving students. Depending on the actions of the student, a disciplinary referral may be an option.

Step 1 – Interaction with Care Team

• We had meetings with representatives from Psychological Services and University Counsel.

• We were advised to stay in touch, and to carefully document the President’s behavior over time.

• We met with them a few times to update them on the problems and to seek advice on next steps. Also spoke with them over the phone several times.

• At times, we sent them memos with different proposed actions, asking for their recommendations.

Step 2 - Documentation

Documented behavior over 4 months. (Review documentation)• Needed to find a basis on which we could ask him to eventually leave. • Found a loophole within the organizational bylaws:

“occasions may arise when it will become appropriate for the Director to terminate a member whose continued membership is not in the best interests of OLLI. This action will be taken only after an in-depth review and majority recommendation by the President, the Chair of the Membership Committee and the Director.”

• Also, he was conducting personal business in our building. Temple’s Employee manual specifies that TU property should be used for Temple business exclusively. If student or employee uses Temple property to conduct personal business, this implies University endorsement of the product or activity (examples, tutoring, Avon sales, President’s legal activities)

Step 3 – Informed Internal Stakeholders

• Held a Council meeting (without the president), to inform them of the problem, to inform them of our intentions, and to receive their cooperation.

• It was decided we would ask the President to step down.

• Sent a memo to the University President to prepare her in case he retaliates in some way.

• Sent a memo to the Bernard Osher Foundation for the same reason.

Step 4 – Dismissal & Informed External Stakeholders

• We held a meeting in which we informed the President he was being removed from office. Attendees were two Vice Presidents , my boss, a staff member from our building, myself, and a Temple Policeman was in the building in case of need. Fortunately, it turned out to be unnecessary.

• The President threatened legal action and it was over. • At this point, we sent a memo to the University

President, V.P. of Institutional Advancement and David Blazevich from the Bernard Osher Foundation to give them a heads up that they might be hearing from Larry.

Second Situation

• Numerous unpleasant exchanges occurred between a female member (who was an officer in the program) and a male member (who was another officer in the program) and he began to document the behavior.

• She had unacknowledged romantic feelings for the man and she scrutinized his behavior with other women at OLLI and accused him of having affairs with them. He responded that these accusations were preposterous and that he was happily married.

• She began to treat the other women aggressively and they began to document their experiences.

Steps Taken

1. Contacted the Office of Multicultural Affairs (now called Equal Opportunity Compliance).

2. They collected information from the director, the 3 people who were feeling victimized and the harassing member. We had phone conversations, sent documentation.

They held a face to face meeting with the director alone, a separate one with the director and the primary victim and another one with the director and the harassing member.

The representative from Multicultural Affairs requested to have a mediation meeting with the victims and the harassing member. The victims refused, siting their belief that they just wanted the behavior to stop and they didn’t want any further contact with the harassing member.

Steps Taken3. The director and victims worked with the representative from this office to find ways to set parameters around the harassing member’s activity, to limit her interactions with the people she had issues with. For example, she was asked to resign from the Education Committee and stop attending the primary victim’s computer class. She agreed.

4. In a formal letter from the Office of Multicultural Affairs, she was also told to be cordial to the victims but not pursue unwelcome contact.

5. This solved the problem temporarily. Eventually she forgot about the restrictions on her behavior and began to interact with the same people in ways which made them feel threatened.

6. Soon the Director had a conversation with the harassing member in which he stated that he believed it was time to end her membership and he would provide her a refund. Fortunately, she was so weary from the whole process that she agreed.

Lessons Learned

1. Any behavior that is disruptive to the functioning of the program or considered harassment by members must be dealt with quickly. Figure out which stakeholders need to be involved: internal or external or both.

2. Document… Document.

3. Make sure you have language in your bylaws or other supporting documents to protect the organization against difficult people.

Lessons Learned

4. Know the university Student Conduct Code and harassment policies. Know which offices handle these problems.

5. While the documentation and feedback process is wearying for staff, it has the effect of wearing out the misbehaving member and preparing them for a relatively peaceful parting of ways, when the time comes.

6. Question: How political should the staff be concerning the nomination of elected members?