Douglas Trevor, a University of Michigan professor of English and creative writing since 2007, is prohibited from conducting closed-door office hours or meeting with students off campus until April 2022.
Douglas Trevor: "Misinformation has circulated about me." (Photo: LinkedIn)
The tenured professor also is ineligible for a merit raise or any department leadership position during that time, The Michigan Daily reports. His restrictions follow an investigation of "allegations of harassment, retaliation and intimidation against Trevor," adds the article by senior Juliana Morano, an associate news editor.
So it's understandable why the 51-year-old educator posts on LinkedIn that he's "interested in exploring new opportunities ... outside of the traditional academic setting."
Limits on his student contacts are stipulated in a two-page letter to Trevor last April from Dean Anne Curzan of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, which The Michigan Daily obtained. It cites "troubling" behavior and "your failure to maintain professional boundaries with staff and students."
Anne Curzan: "Your behavior has been inappropriate and must change."
(Photo: University of Michigan)
The dean adds:
Appropriate boundaries are fundamental to healthy work relationships. The EC [Executive Committee] and I are deeply concerned that the behavior described in this [investigation] report is unprofessional, has had a negative effect on many members of your unit ... and created an intimidating, hostile and offensive climate for your colleagues' employment.
This letter serves as a reprimand and a strong warning that your behavior has been inappropriate and must change to adhere consistently to professional standards.
Trevor teaches two undergraduate courses this semester on Shakespeare and 17th century English poetry. He has degrees from Princeton and Harvard, and is the author of four books.
Morano, an English major, writes that 2016-19 allegations by three female students and staff members "have been corroborated by friends, fellow students and colleagues of the women who were present at the time."
The Daily has also reviewed correspondence between Trevor and the women who shared their accounts, as well as between administrators. ...
In an email to The Daily, Trevor denied that he had ever engaged in sexual misconduct. ... "I am saddened by the amount of misinformation that has circulated about me in recent times. I want students to know that sexual misconduct should not be tolerated and that I fully support university policies that regulate behavior by faculty and staff."
The paper speaks with Emma Richter, a 2019 graduate who filed a 2018 complaint that led to an investigation of Trevor.
-- Alan Stamm
