Situation
Dr. Ted Constantine has suffered a long term illness, which resulted in a disruption of his teaching and research activities. He has been on medication, which at times makes him “spacey.” As a teacher, he has become less effective in classroom teaching and non-classroom supervision and advising, and “leans” on students to provide him with emotional support and friendship. His scholarship has been very good in the past, but seems to have slowed recently. He is disruptive in faculty meetings because he arrives late, has trouble “tracking” the discussions, and interjects items and issues that are often irrelevant.
Questions
- Does a faculty member who has been physically or mentally ill have an ethical obligation to identify long term consequences for his or her professional performance?
- Who should or can be consulted in a situation in which competence is complicated by health issues?
- What is the role of the Chair and the annual evaluation of faculty members in identifying areas in which performance is no longer adequate?
- How likely is your department to have accurate information from a number of different sources on the long term effectiveness of teaching activities? What strategies does your department employ to bring inadequate performance in the classroom back into compliance with local norms?
Discussion
It is important to recognize the social stigma that accompanies any illness and that exacerbates the willingness of individual faculty members or chairs to grapple with such conditions. The professorate is not immune to the physical and mental health conditions of the general population, and may have particular issues to face with the aging of the academy. An important resource and legal responsibility in health related competency cases, is consultation with the campus ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance officer. Professor Constantine should seek an “Accommodation Plan” through the ADA compliance office which identifies specific responsibilities in teaching and supervision, highlights expectations of the department in research and service, but also balances the physical and emotional needs of Dr. Constantine. In consultation with his physician, the ADA officer and Dr. Constantine will need to identify his current disabilities and the extent to which the department and the university will accommodate these. The Chair can also seek resources for informing Dr. Constantine about concerns regarding boundary issues with students.
Once an Accommodation Plan is in place, it is more likely that the department and the faculty member can identify behaviors in light of these compliance targets. A clear set of procedures within departments for the evaluation of teaching, research and service can be linked to this accommodation plan and provide timely feedback to all concerned. The ethical issues here challenge both the individual and the department in behaving responsibly.
