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Editor's Corner: Civility in the
Classroom
In this issue's first article, Professors Lorrie Willey and Debra Burke de-
scribe a classroom exercise in which teams of students in a business ethics
course work to develop a Student Code of Professional Conduct. Students
thereby are encouraged to reflect on the business world's expectations
regarding ethical behavior and professionalism. The article includes a
model code developed by students, which, among other standards, calls for
students to behave civilly and with respect for the opinions of others.
This article prompted me to think about expectations for the behav-
ior of professors. What would be included in a Professor's Code of
Professional Conduct, especially with regard to professors' dealings with
students? The Statement on Professional Ethics drafted by the American
Association of University Professors (AAUP)1 serves as a useful starting
point. In part, this statement provides: As teachers, professors encourage
the free pursuit of learning in their students. ... Professors demonstrate
respect for students as individuals and adhere to their proper roles as in-
tellectual guides and counselors.2
Two leading scholars on professorial misconduct,3 Braxton and
Bayer, propose a more specific Code of Conduct for Undergraduate
'Am. Ass'n Univ. Professors, Statement on Professional Ethics (2009), http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/
pubres/policydocs/contents/statementonprofessionalethics.htm.
2Id.
3This is a topic that has attracted increased attention in recent years. See, e.g., Special Issue,
Addressing Faculty and Student Classroom Improprieties, 99 NEw DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING &
LEARNING 3-106 (2004). Improprieties, of course, may also be perpetrated by students. Dis-
cussion abounds on such student improprieties as violence, rudeness, or cheating. While some
student misconduct poses a serious threat either to physical safety or to academic integrity,
readers may be amused by a recent alleged incident, recounted at Rabbit-Fearing Teacher Loses
Out (July 20, 2010), http://www.news24.com/World/News/Rabbit-fearing-teacher-loses-out-
20100720 (concerning a lawsuit brought by a teacher with an alleged paralysing fear of
rabbits against a student who allegedly torment[ed] her by scrawling pictures of rabbits on
the blackboard). For an interesting recent study on causes of student incivility, see Bruce R.
Elder et al., Lost in a Crowd: Anonymity and Incivility in the Accounting Classroom, 20 AcCT. ED-
UCATORS' J. 91 (2010) (surveying the literature, reporting results of study suggesting that student
anonymity increases student incivility, and proposing methods for reducing anonymity). For
0 2011 The Author
Journal of Legal Studies Education 0 2011 Academy of Legal Studies in Business
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