{"id":131103,"date":"2022-03-04T08:07:17","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T07:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/12-tidligere-studerende-og-ansatte-beskylder-ku-professor-for-kraenkende-adfaerd\/"},"modified":"2022-03-04T09:58:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T08:58:41","slug":"12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Female students who have had their breasts, legs and behind commented on. A student who, during a dinner with international peers, had her thighs stroked under the table. According to the Danish broadcaster DR,<\/a> these are some of the many accusations from 12 people who have complained about University of Copenhagen (UCPH) professor Matthew Driscoll’s behaviour over the course of a number of years.<\/p>\n

The professor at the Arnamagn\u00e6an Manuscript Collection at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics does not himself recognize the description of his behavior, he replies in writing to DR.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00bbBut I’m sorry that this has been their experience and can only say that it has not been my intention to harm anyone,\u00ab he writes. He refuses to comment on individual cases with reference to the idea that they are from several years ago, and that the cases, according to him, have already been processed.<\/p>\n

Complaints from abroad<\/h3>\n

One of the 12 complainants is Charlotte Frantzdatter, who is a former student and member of staff at the University of Copenhagen. In her complaint, she describes how the professor referred to her as \u2018Charlotte with the big breasts\u2019, and that the relationship was so stressful that she had to switch supervisors while writing her master\u2019s thesis.<\/p>\n

The complaints also came from abroad. DR has spoken to university staff in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the United States, all of whom say that they advise their students against applying for positions at the Arnamagn\u00e6an Manuscript Collection, where the professor is employed.<\/p>\n

Only two of the complainants that DR has been in contact with say that they were informed directly by the university that the complaint had been processed and closed. This is even though they could read in the university’s appeals guide that they could expect a response.<\/p>\n

\u00bbUnfortunate\u00ab<\/h3>\n

Kirsten Busch Nielsen, who is now Dean of the Faculty of Humanities \u2013 but who was not dean at the time \u2013 says to DR that it is unfortunate if the briefing that a complaint had been processed was only given to some of the complainants.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Frantzdatter says that many people complained multiple times:<\/p>\n

\u00bbAnd none of the complaints have had any effect whatsoever on the working environment there, or on his employment status or on anything else,\u00ab she says to DR.<\/p>\n

Matthew Driscoll himself says that he has changed his behaviour over the past few years.<\/p>\n

\u00bbOver the past many years, and especially after the 2019 complaint, I am increasingly aware of my use of language, in particular my humorous comments, and the unequal power relationship that can arise because of my position as a professor. This is in order to prevent anyone from experiencing that I crossed their boundaries,\u00ab the professor says to DR.<\/p>\n

Kirsten Busch Nielsen does not want to discuss the specific case, but points out that work has been done on the working environment since a 2019 workplace assessment. On the international criticism, she says to DR:<\/p>\n

\u00bbOf course I am sorry to hear this \u2013 but also a bit surprised. Because it is the University of Copenhagen’s intention and also its reality to ensure that there is a good study and work environment \u2013 and this means a study and work environment where offensive behaviour is not accepted,\u00ab says Kirsten Busch Nielsen.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries’ universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":126482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4539],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arbejdsmiljoe-en","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment \u2014 University Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries' universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment \u2014 University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries' universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-04T07:07:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-04T08:58:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Serge Savin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Serge Savin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Serge Savin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/62c36c5486fdf49440d25c26b61ca3a9\"},\"headline\":\"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-04T07:07:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-04T08:58:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":557,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Working environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/\",\"name\":\"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment \u2014 University Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-04T07:07:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-04T08:58:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/62c36c5486fdf49440d25c26b61ca3a9\"},\"description\":\"Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries' universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/62c36c5486fdf49440d25c26b61ca3a9\",\"name\":\"Serge Savin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5a8415205635c832b6ccb322b5aa36a40c136e73dee3ffb085e4d94c8f4afd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5a8415205635c832b6ccb322b5aa36a40c136e73dee3ffb085e4d94c8f4afd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5a8415205635c832b6ccb322b5aa36a40c136e73dee3ffb085e4d94c8f4afd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Serge Savin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/vicki-therkildsenuniavisen-dk\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment \u2014 University Post","description":"Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries' universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment \u2014 University Post","og_description":"Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries' universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"2022-03-04T07:07:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-04T08:58:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":600,"url":"http:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Serge Savin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Serge Savin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/"},"author":{"name":"Serge Savin","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/62c36c5486fdf49440d25c26b61ca3a9"},"headline":"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment","datePublished":"2022-03-04T07:07:17+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-04T08:58:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/"},"wordCount":557,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","articleSection":["Working environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/","name":"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment \u2014 University Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-04T07:07:17+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-04T08:58:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/62c36c5486fdf49440d25c26b61ca3a9"},"description":"Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries' universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","width":1100,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"12 former students and staff accuse UCPH professor of harassment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/62c36c5486fdf49440d25c26b61ca3a9","name":"Serge Savin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5a8415205635c832b6ccb322b5aa36a40c136e73dee3ffb085e4d94c8f4afd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5a8415205635c832b6ccb322b5aa36a40c136e73dee3ffb085e4d94c8f4afd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5a8415205635c832b6ccb322b5aa36a40c136e73dee3ffb085e4d94c8f4afd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Serge Savin"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/vicki-therkildsenuniavisen-dk\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"expression":{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11489,"filter":"raw"},"enable_comments":true,"align_content":"alignleft","feature_color":"","article_updated":"","layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"default","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":131125,"id":131125,"title":"1100x600pxscjura","filename":"1100x600pxscjura.jpg","filesize":294031,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/12-former-students-and-staff-accuse-ucph-professor-of-harassment\/1100x600pxscjura\/","alt":"","author":"9","description":"","caption":"","name":"1100x600pxscjura","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":131103,"date":"2022-03-04 08:27:26","modified":"2022-03-04 08:27:52","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1100,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura-480x262.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":262,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura-768x419.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":419,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","large-width":1100,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","1536x1536-width":1100,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","2048x2048-width":1100,"2048x2048-height":600,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura-290x158.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":158,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura-700x382.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":382,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1100x600pxscjura-990x540.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":540}},"style":"full","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"","text":"Complaint from 12 students and staff cites bullying and harassment by a University of Copenhagen professor. The case has staff from other countries' universities warning students and young researchers against applying to work under the professor\u2019s management.","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>Female students who have had their breasts, legs and behind commented on. A student who, during a dinner with international peers, had her thighs stroked under the table. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dr.dk\/lyd\/p1\/kulturen-pa-p1\">Danish broadcaster DR,<\/a> these are some of the many accusations from 12 people who have complained about University of Copenhagen (UCPH) professor Matthew Driscoll’s behaviour over the course of a number of years.<\/p>\n<p>The professor at the Arnamagn\u00e6an Manuscript Collection at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics does not himself recognize the description of his behavior, he replies<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dr.dk\/nyheder\/indland\/12-tidligere-studerende-og-ansatte-klager-over-professor-paa-koebenhavns-universitet\"> in writing to DR.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBut I’m sorry that this has been their experience and can only say that it has not been my intention to harm anyone,\u00ab he writes. He refuses to comment on individual cases with reference to the idea that they are from several years ago, and that the cases, according to him, have already been processed.<\/p>\n<h3>Complaints from abroad<\/h3>\n<p>One of the 12 complainants is Charlotte Frantzdatter, who is a former student and member of staff at the University of Copenhagen. In her complaint, she describes how the professor referred to her as \u2018Charlotte with the big breasts\u2019, and that the relationship was so stressful that she had to switch supervisors while writing her master\u2019s thesis.<\/p>\n<p>The complaints also came from abroad. DR has spoken to university staff in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the United States, all of whom say that they advise their students against applying for positions at the Arnamagn\u00e6an Manuscript Collection, where the professor is employed.<\/p>\n<p>Only two of the complainants that DR has been in contact with say that they were informed directly by the university that the complaint had been processed and closed. This is even though they could read in the university’s appeals guide that they could expect a response.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00bbUnfortunate\u00ab<\/h3>\n<p>Kirsten Busch Nielsen, who is now Dean of the Faculty of Humanities \u2013 but who was not dean at the time \u2013 says to DR that it is unfortunate if the briefing that a complaint had been processed was only given to some of the complainants.<\/p>\n<p>Charlotte Frantzdatter says that many people complained multiple times:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAnd none of the complaints have had any effect whatsoever on the working environment there, or on his employment status or on anything else,\u00ab she says to DR.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Driscoll himself says that he has changed his behaviour over the past few years.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbOver the past many years, and especially after the 2019 complaint, I am increasingly aware of my use of language, in particular my humorous comments, and the unequal power relationship that can arise because of my position as a professor. This is in order to prevent anyone from experiencing that I crossed their boundaries,\u00ab the professor says to DR.<\/p>\n<p>Kirsten Busch Nielsen does not want to discuss the specific case, but points out that work has been done on the working environment since a 2019 workplace assessment. On the international criticism, she says to DR:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbOf course I am sorry to hear this \u2013 but also a bit surprised. Because it is the University of Copenhagen’s intention and also its reality to ensure that there is a good study and work environment \u2013 and this means a study and work environment where offensive behaviour is not accepted,\u00ab says Kirsten Busch Nielsen.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with our top stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":4539,"name":"Working environment","slug":"arbejdsmiljoe-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4539,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":95,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11489,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1100x600pxscjura.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131103"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131135,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131103\/revisions\/131135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}