Last year, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) held a one-day workshop to gather information for its study on “the influence of sexual harassment in academia on the career advancement of women in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce.”

One of the sessions, “Challenges, Opportunities, and Approaches for Addressing Sexual Harassment in Academic Institutions,” featured remarks by David Mogk, a professor of geology at Montana State University (MSU) and former chair of its Department of Earth Sciences.

“I think we have a responsibility not only to do good science but to each other,” he said. Mogk added that “fairness for all should be put in place in practice and in policy. Everyone has a right to a safe and inclusive, productive work environment.”

In recent years, Mogk handled accused sexual misconduct by two tenured members of his department. While one professor left MSU, the other committed suicide. Mogk referred to himself as an “unwilling department head,” adding, “nothing in my academic training prepared me for the severity of the interpersonal conflicts that I had to deal with.”