Risky romance
A professor and a student, both consenting adults, share a common academic interest that develops into romance.
On the surface, it doesn’t appear to be a problem. But when this passion fades, the relationship rarely results in a simple split.
In some cases, the outcome can be ugly for all involved, triggering repercussions ranging from fistfights and bruised feelings to public scandals and firings.
Two high-profile cases at Western Oregon University illustrate the problems that such trysts pose for universities that try to address faculty-student relationships.
Three years ago, Dean Bethea was one of the most popular and influential professors at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.
Bethea, then a 41-year-old English professor, had been awarded the first Student Association’s Faculty Award, and he was nominated for another faculty excellence award.
He also was romantically involved with a female student, according to police and court records.
At an off-campus party in the summer of 2002, Bethea’s romantic relationships with the student and other women were an underlying cause of a melee that eventually cost Bethea his job.
Earlier this year, WOU professor Gary Welander struggled to defend himself when his former student Rosemary Garcia filed a $12.6 million sexual harassment lawsuit against him and the university.
The lawsuit was settled about a month later with Garcia receiving a $65,000 out-of-court settlement and Welander suspended from his teaching position for the spring semester.