Greetings allies and members.
Happy New Year!
This issue of our newsletter includes a selection of the latest research, media and activities related to the issue of academic bullying and harassment. The included studies contain key yet often underexplored variables, such as bystander behavior and the connection between age and bullying dynamics. As highlighted in the literature below, our understanding of the cultural and psychological factors that influence bullying in academic environments is advancing significantly, offering meaningful insights and solutions to this pervasive issue.
As always, stay tuned for more information on our latest activities and thank you for your interest in and support for Academic Parity. Thank you to those of you who have kindly sent relevant research and materials our way! A special thank you to Sylvie Saget for your consistent contributions and support. One of the most pleasant aspects of this difficult work is the wonderful people we meet along the way. Thank you for being a part of our community and wishing you a very happy New Year.
Under pressure: Becoming the good enough academic (Management Teaching Review, 2025). Drawing from personal experience as an early career researcher, Milena Tekeste examines the implicit and explicit pressures to conform to academic norms, arguing for a re-evaluation of what it means to be a “good” academic and calling for the creation of a more supportive and sustainable academic culture
Examining age-dependent patterns in academic bullying behaviors (Journal of Academic Ethics, November 2025). This global cross-sectional survey by Sherry E. Moss and Morteza Mahmoudi found that age is significantly related to the contextual behaviors of academic bullying and that the youngest perpetrators (ages 25–35) exhibited significantly fewer abusive behaviors than older groups, with the highest rates observed among those aged 56–65.
130 researcher testimonies expose a culture of fear and silence at Danish universities (University Post, November 2025). This article by Martin Juhl discusses the findings of a new campaign—the Movement for a Free Academia Forskerbevægelsen—which has brought together 130 anonymous testimonies from academic researchers across Denmark who describe everything from work environments marked by fear and managerial pressure, to social exclusion and career-related reprisals.
Bystanders witnessing social exclusion exhibit reduced physiological responses of empathy: an EEG study (Frontiers in Psychology, December 2025). Torige et al examined how the involvement of bystanders modulates empathic responses while witnessing social exclusion using electroencephalography (EEG) and found that regardless of whether they intervene in bullying, bystanders may reduce empathy or suppress cognitive conflict to avoid empathy, thereby alleviating self-distress.
Don’t downplay problems of bullying and harassment in academia (Nature, December 2025). This article addresses the UK government’s decision to hit pause on plans to assess the quality of research culture as part of its Research Excellence Framework (REF), in spite of recent findings that the country has a serious problem with bullying and harassment in academia.
Oxford University has failed women over harassment concerns, staff say (Bloomberg, November 2025). In this piece, Katherine Griffiths discusses the findings of a Bloomberg investigation exploring Oxford University’s problematic treatment of allegations of harassment, misconduct and assault.
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and pariah among his peers (Stat10, November 2025). This article by Sharon Begley discusses James Watson’s legacy as a Nobel-winning biologist whose discovery (with Francis Crick) of the double helix transformed our understanding of genetics and the “public and unrepentant racism” that underpinned his views.
South Korean universities deny admissions to applicants with bullying records (NDTV, November 2025). This article discusses shifting admissions policies among South Korean universities for applicants with a documented history of bullying or “school violence”.
The following CFP for a special issue in Nature Scientific Reports on the topic of Bullying in School and the Workplace welcomes original research articles on bullying at school and in the workplace.
Voices from the Community section is a space where members of our community share their stories and experiences of academic bullying. Please let us know if you have an experience you would like to share by contacting our newsletter editor at avogelaar@paritymovement.org. Contributions are anonymized but not fact-checked and should be 300 words or less.
I worked at a small private international university with a history of poor management and cronyism. Because it was my first fulltime job in academia, it took me several years to figure out what was “normal” for higher ed and what was not. Also, it’s no secret that getting a job as a professor is like finding a diamond–you hold onto it for dear life. It rarely pays to point out the flaws in management. So instead I developed a strategy of quietly helping and fixing what was broken. This worked because management could benefit from the fixes (e.g. programs for LGBTQI students, new and clear complaints procedures, diversity committees, etc) but it meant that I did all this care work instead of doing my research. I paid, they benefitted and no one ever fixed the “root” of the problem. There are too many examples of bullying and harassment to write in one short paragraph but one sticks out to me that is worthy of pausing on. It involved a colleague–the only person of color on the faculty–being put through a bizarre and totally unfair promotion process that was led by a faculty member who was well known for bullying competent women. My colleague was asked to meet standards that the men before her did not need to meet (they said that was the past and these were the new standards). When she met these standards (which they had designed for her to fail), they created new standards, which she met. Then they created new ones. The process went on for almost two years when they finally had to grudgingly promote her. And then six months later they ended her contract citing financial difficulties. I guess the lesson we learned in this process was that the ending was already built in. We (stupidly) assumed that if we followed the rules and met the standards (no matter how ridiculous), the facts would ultimately rule. But bullies manipulate rules until they get what they want.
Until the next issue, wishing you well,
Dr. Alison E. Vogelaar
Newsletter Editor