Hi, all.

There are some resources on our campus for disruptive and potentially students.  Before anything erupts as it did at FSU, if a faculty or staff member has concerns about a student -- ranging from depression/suicide to danger to others -- they can contact Jeanne Miller (dean of students).   Her office has a process for checking up on students.  

And of course, we have UPD.  We had one incident years ago when an angry ex-boyfriend (not a student here) of one of our students entered one of the CADE classrooms and refused to leave.  UPD was very helpful in expelling the gentleman caller.

At CADE, we have some "in-house" protocols that we developed and agreed on for dealing with emergency situations.  (We've never had to use them, but we know them and review them annually.)  Most of us teach and tutor all in the same area, so it's a lot easier to get back-up from our colleagues when the classroom is right across the hall from our offices.

Amy

-----Original Message-----
From: Teaching Breakfast List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pence, Harry
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2012 8:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: How do you deal with disruption in class?

Dear Friends,

Fortunately, I never had a problem this bad when I was teaching*, but I wonder what resources and training SUCO provides to support a faculty member who does encounter this type of problem.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/03/26/how-should-faculty-deal-classroom-disruptors

According to the article:
>At the University of Maryland at College Park, the chair of the Behavior Evolution and Threat Assessment >team sends out a note to faculty and staff members each semester that advises them on resources available at >the university should they encounter verbal aggression, threats of violence or someone with a psychiatric >problem. 

Do we have a similar program to lead faculty to available resources?


Harry

*P.S.  My question is not totally theoretical.  I ask because during my career I can think of at least two students who physically threatened me and/or my colleagues.  Fortunately, one of the students never enrolled in my class and the other got so angry at me that he put his fist through a plate glass window, transferring the problem to the staff of the local hospital.  


Harry E. Pence
SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus
SUNY Oneonta