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Pious Perverts See other Pious Perverts Articles Title: Professor's possible return to classroom angers his peers Professor's possible return to classroom angers his peers Some WOU instructors might picket Gary Welander's classes ALAN GUSTAFSON MONMOUTH -- Speaking at a sexual-harassment forum Thursday, three Western Oregon University teacher-education professors vented anger and frustration about fellow professor Gary Welander returning to teach in the fall. "It is damaging our sense of dignity. We are ashamed we have to do this," professor David Wright said, referring to accepting Welander back into the teaching ranks. "We are being forced to do this by the university." Welander, 59, is on unpaid leave. He is expected to resume teaching in the fall. Earlier this year, former student Rosemary Garcia filed a multimillion-dollar sexual-harassment lawsuit against Welander and the university. The lawsuit was settled about a month later with Garcia receiving a $65,000 out-of-court settlement and Welander suspended from his teaching position for the spring semester. University leaders have refused to reveal results of the school's investigation into Garcia's complaint against Welander. They also have refused to publicly disclose his disciplinary records. Amid the Welander controversy, morale has suffered within WOU's teacher-education division, and it will suffer even more if he returns to the classroom, Wright said. "It is creating a hostile work environment, and it's going to affect our job performance," he said. Professor Sue Dauer said previous allegations against Welander were brought to the attention of former school administrators more than a decade ago. She said the officials failed to take action. "It just goes on and on and on," Dauer said. "How many more years do we have to deal with this?" Welander was hired at WOU in 1983, five years after he pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually abusing an underage girl while he was a public school teacher in a Portland suburb. Applicants for faculty positions were not required during the 1980s to disclose whether they had prior convictions for felonies or misdemeanors. However, professor George Cabrera said Welander's criminal conviction reflects badly on the university, as does media coverage of the sexual-harassment complaint against him. "How ridiculous do we look in the public?" he said. When Welander returns to teaching in the fall, Cabrera said, he may find some faculty members protesting his presence. "We're going to have to picket his classes," Cabrera said. "That's the type of discussion that is going on." Welander did not return a phone call Thursday seeking his comment. Western President Philip W. Conn, who led the sexual-harassment forum, said he understood why some faculty members were upset with the outcome of the case. But Conn steadfastly defended the discipline taken against Welander. "We feel the sanction is quite severe," he said.
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#1. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut (#0)
IOW, conservatives are lower on the academy's totem pole than sex offenders.
Actually, these days there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two. ;-(
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