Abstract:

Bullying of faculty in higher education—particularly in online learning environments—is a growing yet under-recognized threat to faculty well-being, professional identity, and instructional quality. While workplace bullying has been widely studied across industries, far less attention has been paid to how power dynamics are reversed in higher education, where faculty members themselves may become targets of persistent hostility, manipulation, or aggression from students.

This presentation explores the nature of workplace bullying and applies established research frameworks to the distinct ways bullying manifests in academic contexts. Emphasis is placed on the characteristics of typical targets, including traits that make online faculty particularly vulnerable—such as invisibility, constant accessibility, and the emotional labor inherent in digital teaching.

The session then examines patterns of bullying of higher-education faculty, with special attention to the escalating challenges uniquely associated with online learning environments. These include the lack of nonverbal cues, technological anonymity, asynchronous escalation cycles, and the administrative tendency to privilege customer-service models over faculty protection. Compounding these issues is a chronic lack of bystander involvement—from colleagues, administrators, and support personnel—who may overlook, minimize, or unintentionally enable faculty mistreatment.

Moving from diagnosis to solution, the presentation offers concrete, research-supported strategies for stopping higher-education bullying, including boundary-setting practices, documentation protocols, institutional response models, and approaches for cultivating constructive bystander engagement. The session concludes with guidance on how faculty can heal from bullying, rebuild professional confidence, and restore a sense of psychological safety while continuing to thrive within online teaching spaces.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how bullying operates in the digital academy and with practical, actionable tools to strengthen resilience, protect well-being, and promote healthier, more respectful online learning environments.

Keywords:

Education, Online teaching challenges, student-faculty communication dynamics, faculty well-being, faculty empowerment.