The Macalester Board of Trustees granted tenure to Terry Boychuk, the embattled sociology professor who faced an investigation into allegations of sexual harrassment.

President Michael McPherson announced the trustees’ decision in a two-paragraph memo sent to the entire faculty on Tuesday, April 23.

“All matters related to accusations regarding Professor Boychuk’s conduct are now resolved,” he wrote. He went on to write that Boychuk had been cleared of all allegations of harassment.

In response to a specific claim filed by a student, the Judicial Forum-the group on campus that handles grievances from students, faculty and staff-found that Professor Boychuk had not committed any act of harassment. But the Forum did sanction Boychuk for behavior that was deemed “inappropriate and not within the bounds of acceptable behavior in the Macalester community,” according to a letter written by Associate Dean Joi Lewis.

That letter was addressed to a student who filed a harassment claim against Boychuk on March 21, 2002, after the issue had already been made public in The Mac Weekly.

The letter went on to say that “the Forum found evidence that Professor Boychuk may not have been sufficiently aware of his impact on others, that he has a tendency to speak impulsively, and that he needs to take more responsibility for the impact of his actions on others.”

According to the letter from Assistant Dean Joi Lewis, the sanctions are as follows:

•That Professor Boychuk be required to write a private letter “apologizing for his e-mail regarding work-study performance and for the discussion of underwear with her.”

•That Professor Boychuk be “required to undergo gender and racial sensitivity training to be completed before September 4, 2002.”

•That “a letter will remain in the grievance files for 7 years.”

The Judicial Forum does not make tenure decisions. Results of its proceedings are usually kept private. Boychuk may appeal the Forum’s sanctions.

Asked if he felt the sanctions were fair, Professor Boychuk said, “I can’t speak about anything of that nature.”

Lawyers for Professor Boychuk contacted The Mac Weekly on Thursday, April 25 requesting that it refrain from publishing any content related to the sanctions handed down by the Judicial Forum because it might violate confidentiality requirements.

“I am also concerned that the information received and thought to be published will contain inaccuracies, which may harm the reputation of Prof. Boychuk,” Boychuk lawyer Marshall Tanick wrote.

In the absence of any legal representation, The Mac Weekly chose not to go to print last week.

The trustees’ decision to award Professor Boychuk tenure came a full six weeks after they were originally scheduled to vote on the nomination. At that March 8 meeting, the trustees took the unprecedented step of tabling the decision after a group of five students wrote a letter to President Michael McPherson alleging that the administration had failed to properly investigate complaints about Boychuk’s conduct.

The five students who wrote the letter offered no first-hand evidence that Boychuk had violated any college policies; rather, they claimed they knew of other students who said they had been sexually harassed while they were under his tutelage.

The actions of the five students, including the lack of any first-hand evidence of specific misdeeds on the part of Professor Boychuk, outraged many members of the faculty and some students, who felt that the entire tenure process had been derailed by specious, eleventh-hour allegations.

“I think the board was put in an untenable position and I think that was the intent of the students,” Communication Studies Professor Adrienne Christiansen said. “Although I’m terribly distressed by what the students did, I suspect they did this believing that it was justified and appropriate.”

Despite the air of finality expressed in that memo from McPherson, it was clear on Wednesday that the issues surrounding the case were far from resolved.

History Professor Jim Stewart felt that Boychuk has not been fully exonerated, even after receiving tenure. “There are many, many unresolved issues,” he said. “The first and most obvious question is: why do you dismember a person and then welcome them as a valuable tenured colleague?”

Professor Christiansen offered a different view.

“I think the fact that he got tenure exonerates him,” she said. “I have such mixed feelings. Of course I’m thrilled for him. I’m also distraught that this situation ever occurred.”

Professor Boychuk is the fourth professor to receive tenure this year. The other professors are Susan Fox, Mathematics and Computer Science; Kim Venn, Physics and Astronomy; and Ray Rogers, Geology.

Boychuk received his B.A. from Carleton College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. His doctoral studies centered on comparative and historical sociology, political sociology, sociology of the welfare state and the sociology of non-profit organizations. His current research focuses on the rich and varied relationships among churches, schools, social service agencies and the state.

The four professors were recognized at a ceremony held in Weyerhaeuser Chapel on Wednesday, May 1.