BethAnn McLaughlin

BethAnn McLaughlin is a neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center (VUMC). She’s also a leader in the STEM version of the #MeToo movement, having brought her passion, irreverent humor, and determination to stamp out sexual harassment in Academia. If you think sexual harassment in Academia isn’t a problem, consider reading this 187 page report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine: Sexual Harassment of Women (you can download it for free after a brief registration process). Dr. McLauglin’s advocacy has had some very positive results, including pressuring AAAS to strip proven sexual harassers of their AAAS honors, to which they agreed. Furthermore, she started an on-line petition demanding that the National Academy of Sciences remove alleged harassers from its ranks; and met with NIH Director, Francis Collins, who reportedly apologized for not acting with greater urgency to stem sexual harassment in the ranks of funded investigators. If you think sexual harassment isn’t a problem in Academia, consider scrolling down this list of hundreds of confirmed sexual harassers (overwhelmingly male) in Academia that have been sanctioned, fired, fined, imprisoned, or forced to resign. It’s a huge problem. Back to Dr. McLaughlin – in 2015, the Department of Neurology and the Medical Center’s Appointments and Promotions Committee recommended her for tenure. However, it seems her role in the STEM #MeToo movement caused some discomfort for members of her department, specifically her role in bringing one of their own, neuroscientist Aurelio Galli (now at UAB), to task for his alleged libidinous interests in his former graduate student, Erin Watt. In a ham-handed and doltish reaction, her department reversed course and voted unanimously to reverse its tenure recommendation. If this action weren’t so tragic for Dr. McLaughlin’s career, it would be laughable given its glaringly obvious intent to silence her by getting rid of her. Her case was moved up the chain of command and onto the desk of the University Chancellor, Nicholas Zeppos, and the Board of Trust, for a final decision. All this goes to show that as long as academic departments are not accountable for the behavior of their male faculty, women who have the temerity to speak out against foul play will face added obstacles to their success.