The Executive Board sent a noreply-mail to the complete TU/e staff Wednesday morning in which they expressed their concerns over the abovementioned studies. ‘Our personal and considerate dealings with one another in the working environment of research and education is one of TU/e’s major assets,’ the board writes in the email. ‘It therefore strives for a continuous improvement of the perception of safety of its entire staff and student body.’

Rector Magnificus Frank Baaijens and Chairman of the Executive Board Jan Mengelers emphatically state that the board wishes to create a safe working environment for every staff member and student. According to Mengelers, the issue was discussed during last Monday’s university consultative council with the deans. “We asked them to put it on the agenda of their departments as quickly as possible, and to encourage an open discussion. The problem with this research is that you don’t know how the results specifically apply to your university, because the researchers make no distinction. That doesn’t mean we should immediately start claiming that there is no reason to worry too much at TU/e. We didn’t do so either at the time of the #metoo movement. Back then, we also asked our confidential counsellors what they had to say about the matter. And even then, you can never be entirely sure that these things do not occur at your institution.’

Mengelers says the board is thinking about ways how to discuss the problem in a broader context. “We considered setting up a few dialogue sessions but eventually concluded that this is not the best way to tackle the problem. People will not soon feel inclined to share concrete situations in such a public setting, and you run the risk of getting stuck in commonplaces. So, for now, we are still looking into a suitable way to approach the problem,”

Codes of conduct

According to the Executive Board, TU/e has already implemented some measures and arrangements in order to prevent and identify undesirable behavior in the workplace. On the one hand by codes of conduct that were determined between the universities, on the other hand by appointing three confidential counsellors to assist every staff member unreservedly. The board says it has already been decided that it will appoint extra confidential counsellors soon.

The Executive Board’s email concludes by urgently advising people who are confronted with this problem to make an appointment with one of the confidential counsellors, or to seek direct contact with one of the board members.