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Abstract
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Edinburgh university's head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Moira Whyte, must identify the root cause of bullying and harassment at its vet school, says an academic insider.
Dear Professor Moira Whyte. It is reasonable to expect any university to ensure that its heads of school possess the necessary humility, honesty, interpersonal skills and moral fibre to fully understand the responsibilities that accompany the power invested in them, and to conduct themselves accordingly.
As a fellow academic colleague of David Argyle, head of The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, I have observed his language, behaviour and approach to management. I have heard testimony from other staff and students about the impact that his behaviour has had on them both personally and professionally. I have also seen the way the university appears to have sought to protect his career at the expense of the wellbeing of staff and students.
I wish that, as a community of professionals, we had been able to deal with this internally. We have failed in that regard and many of our people are suffering. I speak for myself in saying that an acknowledgement and apology are long overdue. I for one, and no doubt many of my colleagues, are very sorry that we have not been better able to voice these concerns and that they have not been taken seriously. People's lives are potentially at stake and I feel it is my duty to bring these concerns to the attention of a wider audience.
We each have the potential to be both an asset and a liability. In many regards, Argyle has been a great asset to the university, but his behaviour towards staff needs to be recognised as a liability...
Language: en |