Tell NIH Director we need BethAnn McLaughlin’s advocacy

More than 7,000 people have signed our petition to save Prof. McLaughlin’s faculty position at Vanderbilt. Why? Because sexual harassment is more prevalent in college and university STEM departments than in any other public sector, private sector, and government workplace except the military. Women rarely report sexual harassment because of well-founded fears of retaliation. Our most effective MeTooSTEM advocate, BethAnn McLaughlin is being fired by Vanderbilt University in an apparent retaliation for speaking up about sexual harassment in her department.

TODAY: Email NIH Director Francis Collins to let him know we need BethAnn McLaughlin to continue in her faculty role at Vanderbilt so this issue will not be swept under the rug. A personalized note is ideal, but you might use language like this:

Professor BethAnn McLaughlin’s role as an advocate for targets of sexual harassment at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is critical to driving positive culture change at Vanderbilt and other NIH-funded institutions around the country. Sexual harassment is arguably the most serious problem facing our biomedical workforce at this time. As NIH Director, you are responsible for setting the cultural expectations at NIH-funded institutions. Please let Vanderbilt know punishing Professor McLaughlin for her advocacy is not acceptable.

Email:
collinsf@mail.nih.gov, Francis Collins, Director of NIH
chancellor@vanderbilt.edu, Vanderbilt Chancellor Nick Zeppos - you may wish to cc your letter