A little over two years ago, The Michigan Daily published an article uncovering decades of alleged misconduct by two professors of music in the musicology department of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. The two – now former – professors, James Borders and Louise Stein, retired from their positions in June 2024 and December 2023, respectively. Borders and Stein were granted Emeritus and Emerita titles upon their retirements – titles that effectively link their legacy to the University of Michigan indefinitely.
According to the U-M Standard Practice Guide, in addition to standard retirement benefits, University faculty granted Emeritus/Emerita titles are “entitled to attend, without vote, meetings of the University Senate; to march in a position of honor in academic processions; to use the library, computing services, and other facilities; to represent the University at academic ceremonies; and to take part with the faculties in all social and ceremonial functions of the University.”
The Daily obtained the corresponding Regents Communication Action Requests, in which the University celebrates Borders’ and Stein’s academic accomplishments and grants them the title of Emeritus and Emerita respectively.
The decision to grant Borders and Stein emeritus status comes after a 2022 Daily investigation, which revealed allegations of unprofessional conduct by Borders and Stein dating back to the 1980s. The investigation followed a 2020 Rackham Graduate School review of the Music, Theatre & Dance School’s Ph.D. programs, which cited a “troublesome climate requiring attention.” Upon further investigation, The Daily uncovered several allegations specifically referencing the behavior of Stein and Borders, including inappropriate comments directed at students of Color, prejudice against low-income and first-generation students and academic bullying.
Music, Theatre & Dance School alum Alyssa Wells, who took classes with both Borders and Stein, recounted her negative experiences in an interview with The Daily. She described the cycle of abuse she felt Stein enabled in the department.
“(Stein) went through all of these shitty experiences as a female academic and she’s replicating them for us instead of preventing the abuse,” Wells said. “Classical music in academic and conservatory settings makes the assumption that everybody is not a first-generation college student because of the class based disparities that make access to classical music difficult, if not impossible for first-gen students … (Stein) was looking for any sort of excuse to highlight the fact that I was a first-gen college student.”
Wells further elaborated on her experiences with Borders, saying he constantly undermined her as a first-generation student.
“(With Borders) it felt like walking on eggshells all the time,” Wells said. “I don’t think I ever tried to own my identity as a first generation college student. He would just assume that I wasn’t capable and shouldn’t be in the program at all.”
In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen declined to comment on whether any disciplinary actions have been taken to address the misconduct allegations against Professor Stein and Professor Borders.
Wells said that she felt the University’s response had been limited and inadequate.
“Stein and Borders having the weight that they had in the department as full professors meant they were able to throw that weight around,” she said. “(The Music, Theatre & Dance School) largely ignored the issues, or put them on the back burner.”
According to the University’s procedure for emeritus status, a minimum of six separate people from a list including the Director of the Office of Human Resources Records and Information Services, the Provost and the Board of Regents had to approve the emeritus recommendation of both Borders and Stein.
The Daily reached out to each faculty member who voted on Borders’ emeritus status. All of them declined to comment, referring The Daily to Public Affairs. The Daily did not reach out to the faculty who voted on Stein’s emeritus status because of the length of time since the decision. It remains unclear why these faculty members voted to grant emeritus status to Borders and Stein despite the multiple allegations of misconduct against them.
Wells said that the decision to academically enable Borders and Stein’s alleged misconduct reflects directly on the University.
“It shows the University’s commitment to maintaining hegemony — maintaining this power structure and (claiming that) this class-based sense of elitism is more important than the well-being of students.”
Focal Point Reporter Reva Lalwani can be reached at reval@umich.edu.
If you are a survivor on campus who’s faced challenges in reporting, if you’ve faced discrimination or if you have information on any issue relevant to Ann Arbor or the University of Michigan, please consider sending us your story. You can reach us at tipline@michigandaily.com. This is a private tip line viewable by a small team of reporters committed to this work.
The post Musicology professors granted emeritus status after an alleged 30-year record of unprofessional conduct appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
Leave a Reply