r/duke • u/litalela • 1d ago
Faculty-in-residence Eric Disbro resigns after sexual misconduct allegations with first-year in dorm
https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/03c12997-a18e-4bac-ac0b-0f27485bb2e711
u/BigResolve2533 1d ago edited 1h ago
Dude's stupid, dishonest, and unattractive. Definitely took advantage of his position.
Edited for typo
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u/sixtysecdragon 1d ago edited 1d ago
Just embarrassing. It’s not that difficult in life to keep it in your pants, much less when you have plenty of non-student options nearby. And then to comment that you’d just say you needed help if you get caught. Fuck this guy. Stay away from the students.
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u/Frequent-Big8677 1d ago
Why are professors living in dorms again?
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u/CodifiedLikeUtil 1d ago
In the best cases, this kind of thing can work well. They basically serve as additional advisors for students and students get to know them in ways they might not be able to otherwise, and vice-versa. I’m just a little surprised they allow assistant professors to do this.
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u/txchiefsfan02 1d ago
FIRs are historically some of the most amazing people at Duke.
I guess this is the sort of thing that happens when you purge huge chunks of major departments, though.
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u/lentivrral 1d ago
Are you asking this in regards to why someone on the tenure track but who has not yet received tenure is allowed to do this, or are you unfamiliar with how professor titles work? I legit cannot tell from your comment
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u/CodifiedLikeUtil 1d ago
I wasn’t asking anything. I just wouldn’t ask junior faculty to do something like this as they’re working towards tenure. I’m plenty familiar with how academia works, so my opinion is fairly informed.
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u/theesmartstallion 1d ago
They are also the people who are most likely to still be saving to buy houses or not yet have children. So, it can be more attractive for them coming out of a decade of no/low-wage schooling. I imagine that for residence staff, they are attractive hires because they are relatively young and energetic.
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u/Solid_Counsel 16h ago
Yeah you answered it yourself Sherlock. In the best case, “they get to know students in ways they might not be able to otherwise.”
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u/CodifiedLikeUtil 10h ago
The problem for assistant professors is that external evaluators (for their tenure cases) won’t see any of that.
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u/txchiefsfan02 9h ago
I am pretty sure Disbro won't outrun this one. He/they are gonna wear this their entire career for the extra spotlight this gross behavior will bring on trans/queer faculty (and their field of study). This will probably be a national story by Tuesday, unfortunately.
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u/swerdna2 1d ago
FIRs get so many perks like meal stipends, free rent, utilities, etc. It’s a coveted position that clearly has little oversight by the university despite consuming a lot of resources.
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u/Utterlybored 1d ago
Assistant Professor of “Romance Studies.” What were they thinking?
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u/lentivrral 1d ago
"Romance Studies" as in "Latin-based languages and associated literature/cultures"
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u/marfacza 23h ago
Thank you, professor. It was obviously a joke.
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u/lentivrral 23h ago
Damn I wish I lived in your world where people aren't both incredibly stupid and propagandized against education and academia.
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1d ago
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u/CodifiedLikeUtil 1d ago
A quote from the article linked above: “Per Appendix L of the Duke Faculty Handbook, all sexual or romantic relationships between faculty members and undergraduate students is prohibited, whether or not the engagement is “consensual.”
It’s fairly black and white.
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u/ThethinkingRed 1d ago
To add on, from the article "The other Randolph resident, a friend of the student who chatted with Disbro, also told Duke administrators that Disbro had sent the student photographs of his genitalia and had emphasized the importance of not being caught."
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u/SkyBlade79 1d ago
Funny enough, it's allowed for graduate students and faculty members but you often have to get written permission, based on department
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u/sixtysecdragon 1d ago
It is an issue and handled slightly differently because the student tends to be older. But there is typically issues if you work in the same lab or there is a perceived power dynamic or preferential treatment.
Also it’s not uncommon for people meet in grad school and build lives together but also be out of sync with each other in training.
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u/CodifiedLikeUtil 1d ago
The graduate students probably negotiated for that in their union contract. /s
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u/ThethinkingRed 1d ago
the fact that you are also a professor is concerning... https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/1wazkf5/my_students_can_open_a_web_link_on_their/
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u/sixtysecdragon 1d ago
Student-Professor isn’t just a porn kink. It’s consisered verboten for about 60 years. The power in balance and potential for abuse by both parties has made it taboo.
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u/senari CS 1d ago
With a FIRST YEAR?