Conley Discusses Sex Harassment

A Stanford University professor who spoke out against sexual harassment last spring said yesterday at Harvard that she is not optimistic about her future at the West Coast university.

Dr. Frances K. Conley, a neurosurgeon who has spent her entire career at Stanford Medical School, spoke about problems of sexual harassment at a gathering of about 30 people sponsored by the Women's Studies Department.

Of her current situation, Conley said, "I am ultimately pessimistic that I will not be able to stay at Stanford. I don't think that I'll be able to stay in medicine with the stand I have taken."

Conley said her problems with harassment at the university go back over 25 years. According to her, one of the chief offenders was Dr. Gerald Silverberg, who became acting chair of the Stanford neurosurgery department a few years ago.

Conley said that Silverberg's background was virtually identical to hers. "The only way he could demean me was to make sure that everyone knew that I was a woman...because to him, 'woman' equals 'bad,'" she said.

Conley said she informed Stanford Medical School Dean David Korn that she wanted outside leadership for the neurosurgery department, which she called "dysfunctional," and that she would resign if Silverberg were appointed permanently.

When she was told that the open search for a new chair was being terminated due to monetary problemsand that Silverberg would get the position, shesubmitted her resignation, to take effect inSeptember of 1991.

Conley said she decided to write an articleabout her experiences after hearing numerousstudent complaints about sexual harassment atStanford. "What we heard was a work environmentthat needed change," she said.

She said she was surprised by the reaction toher story when it was printed in newspapersnationwide.

"I wanted people to know what was going on atStanford Medical School ... It broke as asensational front-page story," Conley said.

Media attention, public reaction and studentsupport eventually caused the offer to Silverbergto be suspended, Conley said. At the time,Silverberg denied the charges.

Conley said she felt she was in a good positionto raise such a public objection. "I had gotteneverything I wanted ... I opened a forum for many,many other women to come forward," she said.

Conley said she rescinded her resignationbefore it took effect because of this and othermeasures taken to curb sexual harassment.Silverberg has since apologized for his actions.

But she said she is unhappy that the search isbeing postponed for a year while Silverbergreceives "sensitivity training." "They should openthe search and get it over with," she said.

"Leaders are copied," she said. "He doesn'thave that element of personal decency necessary tobe a leader."

Although she did not call for an overnightrevolution, Conley said that there must beprogress.

"The status quo is very comfortable for peopleeven if [it] is very wrong and very demoralizing,"said Conley. "We're in a world that was set up formen. It's time to change."

"I think a powerful message went out, but ithas not been solved at all," she said

Conley said she decided to write an articleabout her experiences after hearing numerousstudent complaints about sexual harassment atStanford. "What we heard was a work environmentthat needed change," she said.

She said she was surprised by the reaction toher story when it was printed in newspapersnationwide.

"I wanted people to know what was going on atStanford Medical School ... It broke as asensational front-page story," Conley said.

Media attention, public reaction and studentsupport eventually caused the offer to Silverbergto be suspended, Conley said. At the time,Silverberg denied the charges.

Conley said she felt she was in a good positionto raise such a public objection. "I had gotteneverything I wanted ... I opened a forum for many,many other women to come forward," she said.

Conley said she rescinded her resignationbefore it took effect because of this and othermeasures taken to curb sexual harassment.Silverberg has since apologized for his actions.

But she said she is unhappy that the search isbeing postponed for a year while Silverbergreceives "sensitivity training." "They should openthe search and get it over with," she said.

"Leaders are copied," she said. "He doesn'thave that element of personal decency necessary tobe a leader."

Although she did not call for an overnightrevolution, Conley said that there must beprogress.

"The status quo is very comfortable for peopleeven if [it] is very wrong and very demoralizing,"said Conley. "We're in a world that was set up formen. It's time to change."

"I think a powerful message went out, but ithas not been solved at all," she said