Let’s refresh our memory: in January 2021, there was a heated discussion on LinkedIn between professor Harald Schmidt and PhD candidate Katherine Bassil about the question ‘when are you a scientist’. He argued that being in science is a 24/7 job, she disagreed. Schmidt then claimed that she, a researcher who had only a few publications and citations to her name, had no right to call herself a scientist. Van den Hove stood up for Bassil. “Is this the way we stimulate and enthuse the next generation of scientists?”, he wrote at the time.
It led to opinion pieces in Observant and further discussions, both online and offline. Van den Hove, also in response to other cases, decided to write a policy note, entitled Misconduct at Maastricht University; Acknowledge, Act and Lead by Example. In it, he shares the steps (Zeven Zeden Sprong or Seven moral steps, a reference to the seven steps in Problem-based Learning) that he believes the UM should take in order to increase the level of social safety. He has now taken it to, among others, Lokaal Overleg, the Concerns & Complaints Point and the Executive Board.
“The attention it has been given the last few years, is an important first step,” says Van den Hove. “If more people speak about it, perhaps something will change. But there is also a downside: people can start to think that enough has been done already or feel resistance.” He noticed the latter in reactions from some colleagues to his plan to bring the subject up in his inaugural speech. ‘Are you sure you want to do that,’ they asked him. “At times genuinely worried, sometimes in a more threatening tone.” Was the latter a form of intimidation? Yes, but contrary to what De Limburger wrote last Monday, Van den Hove made no mention of the incident, nor did it take place 'on the eve' of his speech. An official complaint is also not forthcoming, he says on the phone. "As I said in my speech, you have come to the wrong place with this kind of intimidation."
Sleep badly
“Of course, I am not an expert; at the most, an expert by experience, but I do feel the need to speak out. Since we are physically allowed back at work, I regularly have people come to me who want to tell me their story. These are about pestering behaviour, intimidation or sexual misconduct. They don’t dare approach a confidential advisor, do not trust the UM to handle it well, or simply don’t know where to go. I try to lend a listening ear, refer them if they want. I am glad that I can play a role in this, but I’m not trained for this. Besides, these stories don’t leave you unaffected. I regularly lose sleep over them.”
Regaining trust
The UM has to regain that trust so that people dare to file a report, but he thinks that this is not just a task for the Executive Board or the faculty boards. Don’t look the other way, he asks his colleagues in his speech. “You and I are also part of the UM, this is a problem, and we must all take responsibility. If you see inappropriate behaviour, discuss it, in doesn’t have to escalate immediately. And if a case does require action, do it in a way that shows respect for the victim, but also does justice to the alleged offender.”
An area where the ball is mostly in the Executive Board’s court, is when it comes to the consequences that are attached to a conclusion. “Look, when someone’s name is mentioned in the media without that person being able to present their side or without an investigation having been carried out, that is not benefitting anyone. We absolutely do not want a trial by media.” But if the conclusion of an independent investigation is that indeed something is wrong, “admit it. There are not more incidents at the UM than at any other university or large organisation with a strong hierarchy. But show more clearly that you know what is going on and what you are doing about it. The UM’s reaction when a case gets out in the open is usually silence. In that context, the contrast with the recent fierce response from UM to abuses at Tragos is enormous. That surprised me.”
PhD coach
Van den Hove also wants to do away with the academic culture that revolves around power and position. That means not putting people in management positions who “don’t want to lead, but just want to play the boss”. And not to look the other way in cases of undesirable behaviour where it concerns people who bring in lots of money. Poor leaders cost the organisation lots of money, one way or the other. “How much time and energy does it cost when a complaints procedure is set in motion? How many hours does it cost the legal and HR departments, but also the absence through illness that it involves? In addition, you lose the goodwill and the trust of the younger generation.”
Research school MHeNs, where Van den Hove is head of the Fundamental Neurosciences section within the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, is most likely going to start a pilot project involving an independent PhD coach. “Someone who is not part of the academic team, but who looks at the development of soft skills (such as co-operation, good communication, etc., ed.), helps preparing for the labour market, and also monitors the relationship with the supervisors. When you explicitly ask how things are, you get a better idea of what is going on. It also has a preventive effect: people know someone is watching.” At the moment, PhD candidates first have to file a report, always step over that threshold. That is often too much.
Shocked
“I am making the rounds with the Zeven Zeden Sprong passing by the various committees and will also soon have talks again with president Rianne Letschert on the matter. When I wrote the article, we were in the middle of the Covid pandemic, now there is more time to talk about it.”
He also argues for it being made compulsory to pay attention to (engaging) leadership, ethics and integrity in the academic workplace. “It is expected of academics to keep up their level of knowledge in the fields of education and research, why not also in this field? The world of ten years ago is not the same as the world today. I am working on a European application for this.”
Lastly, he hopes that the UM will be able to identify better what is happening in the workplace. “At the moment, there are a few questions about unacceptable behaviour and social safety in the employee monitor, but not everybody answers them and the monitor does not paint a complete picture. I would like to see a questionnaire especially for this subject. I was shocked at the number of stories that I heard, and that mainly concerns only my own faculty. Everyone is of course terrified of the results of such a survey, but if in five years' time we can perhaps show that new measures help, and then we will be glad that we have stopped looking away now.”