Complaint, Part I: Cover Letter/Summary

In addition to the timeline of efforts to remove Dr. Driskill from the Oregon State University faculty, I wanted to provide details about the complaint that I submitted to OSU's Office of Equal Opportunity and Access. This post is the first installment, which makes public the cover letter for my complaint. It was emailed to Ms. Roni Sue (OSU's Equal Opportunity & Access), Dr. Rogers (Dean for the College of Liberal Arts), and Dr. Bernardin (Director of the School of Language, Culture, & Society). Subsequent posts will cover events that took place in my 2nd year in the PhD program (2018-2019),  my 3rd year (2019-2020), and my 4th and final year (2020-2021).

I was a PhD candidate in good standing in the Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (WGSS) program at Oregon State University from 2017-2020. I am writing to file a formal complaint against Dr. Qwo-Li Driskill, who I interacted with in the following capacities:

• ​Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) from 2017-2020;
• Professor of seven WGSS/QS courses that I took from 2017-2018;
• QS minor representative on my dissertation committee from 2017-2020; and
• Direct supervisor of my graduate teaching assistantships from 2018-2019, when I worked as the QS Social Media & Outreach Assistant [Winter 2018 to Spring 2018] and the Assistant to DGS [Fall 2018 to Spring 2019].

I departed the WGSS PhD program in my final year because of the discrimination, harassment, and retaliation that I experienced from Dr. Driskill as and after I transitioned to working and studying remotely in 2019. In addition to targeting specific students for their displeasure, I also contend that Dr. Driskill created a hostile climate that promoted the bullying of unfavored graduate students by their peers. This culture of fear extended to the WGSS faculty, as there were numerous incidents in which faculty members were too intimidated to advocate for their students when doing so conflicted with Dr. Driskill’s wishes.
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I would love nothing more than to re-enroll in Oregon State University to finish earning my doctorate remotely, but that is an impossibility so long as Dr. Driskill remains in a position of authority. They have used every one of their roles – DGS, professor, committee member, and supervisor – to engage in a pattern of abusive behavior that has only intensified as more graduate students have raised concerns. Furthermore, they have persistently avoided taking accountability for their pernicious actions. It seems likely that they would continue to behave inappropriately in any position that they might occupy at Oregon State University. For this reason, I do not believe that it is sufficient to replace Dr. Driskill as DGS and I advocate for their termination from the faculty.