By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
A years-long dispute in BGSU’s Department of Philosophy has resulted in a professor being banned from campus and from communicating with colleagues and students.
Christian Coons, an associate professor, has been engaged in a dispute with his department and the university. He has alleged misconduct in the hiring of one faculty member, and then the way that faculty member was granted tenure sooner than usual.
He has also said the department has a history of sexual discrimination which BGSU has failed to address.
His dispute goes back to the time during which the university received a $1.6 million grant from the conservative Charles Koch Foundation to help grow the nascent Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law major.
University officials have denied the claims, and Coons’ behavior toward his colleagues has itself been considered harassment.
Asked about the action against the philosophy professor, the university issued the following statement: “Bowling Green State University can confirm employee Christian Coons is on paid leave with standard terms of administrative leave in place. At this time, BGSU has no further comment regarding this personnel matter.”
Coons shared in an email detailing his case against the university, the letter from Provost Joe Whitehead informing him that he has been put on “a non-disciplinary, paid administrative leave” as an investigation into his alleged violations of university policy and the collective bargaining agreement.”
The letter further states: “Please be advised your continued electronic communications to colleagues, administrators, and students have prompted safety concerns and elicited intimidation, fear, and disruption due to the nature of the communications.
“Please be reminded, that University policies and the CBA prohibit actions that have the purpose of creating an intimidating, hostile, offensive, or abusive climate for employees.”
Coons contends he and others, including three faculty members who have left the department, have suffered harassment, and that graduate students will no longer report to the university because they do not believe the issue will be investigated.
One graduate student, who asked for anonymity, supported Coons’ claims.
“I’ve had my life destroyed, and never did anything wrong,” Coons stated in a rebuttal to earlier charges. “The abuse is so bad that I can’t tell people, it just sounds unbelievable, and they dismiss me as a crackpot. I’ve been paralyzed with fear and in treatment for PTSD for two years now. No one helps. Ever. No one cares.”
The letter to the department head, which apparently led to the latest action, was a plea for some admission that what Coons has been alleging was true.
That email was given to the BGSU campus police. In the report, supplied by Coons, the police said the letter would not be deemed threatening and suggested reporting it to the administration.
An article on the situation was published in May 2021, in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
University officials also denied that the Koch Foundation had undue influence on hiring or the operation of the department in 2019.
[RELATED: BGSU dean & PPEL director: No strings attached to money from Koch Foundation]
David Jackson, the president of the BGSU Faculty Association, said that since it was a personnel matter the union could not comment.
