2022-06-29 by The Michigan Daily

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Daily investigation finds allegations of microaggressions against comics professor Current and former students of the School of Art & Design share their experiences with Prof. Phoebe Gloeckner

CALLIE TEITELBAUM Daily Staff Reporter

In an interview with The Daily, a former student in the School of Art & Design recalled her decision to take a class with Phoebe Gloeckner, Art & Design Professor and graphic novelist. This student requested anonymity, citing a fear of professional repercussions. In this article, they will be referred to as Leila. “I always wanted to take a class with her,” Leila said. “She’s so prestigious. She has a movie. She’s a best selling author … so that was really interesting to me.” In the fall of 2020, Leila registered for Gloeckner’s course, ArtDes 366: Graphic Narratives. On Oct. 2, a month into the course, Leila and several other students in the class reported Gloeckner to Art & Design School administrators for dismissing students’ concerns about repeatedly showing “racist caricatures in her curriculum” that lacked educational context. This complaint was obtained by The Daily. List of concerns sent to Art & Design administrators. Obtained by The Daily. A Michigan Daily investigation found numerous previously undisclosed allegations against Gloeckner of perpetuating racial and gender-based microaggressions. The investigation also found that both Art & Design administrators and the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) were repeatedly made aware of these allegations between the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021. Of the 679 Art & Design students enrolled in the winter 2022 semester, 58% are white, 12% are Asian, 5% are Black, 7% are Hispanic and 0.3% are Native American, according to the U-M Office of the Registrar.

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The investigation also uncovered a formal complaint sent to U-M administrators by an artist who worked with Gloeckner at an outside program, the Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA), in the fall of 2021. It is unclear what actions administrators took to address these concerns. This investigation is based on interviews with 12 current and former students of Gloeckner, including three residents who worked with Gloeckner at ACA, along with a review of emails, letters of complaint and other documents pertaining to Gloeckner’s classroom conduct. In an email to The Daily, Gloeckner pointed to the University’s response to the allegations against her. “(The complaints) were already examined by U-M, and the university decided to close the matter over a year Follow The Daily on Instagram, @michigandaily

and half ago,” Gloeckner wrote. “The other allegation from (ACA) is simply outrageous, and absolutely untrue.” Brad Smith, Art & Design associate dean of academic programs, commented on the University’s response to the allegations against Gloeckner in an email to The Daily. “The administration of the Stamps School of Art & Design responded to the concerns shared by students in 2020 and 2021 through established processes regarding such issues,” Smith wrote. “As this is a personnel matter, university policy limits the information we are able to share.” “The harm caused deserves to be properly addressed” Gloeckner has been a professor at the University of Michigan since 2004. She received tenure as an Art & Design associate professor in

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2010. Gloeckner is best known for her graphic novel, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” which was adapted into a film in 2015. The film received critical recognition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. According to students in the Art & Design School, Gloeckner is the only professor who specifically teaches comics and graphic novels. An Art & Design faculty member, who requested anonymity for fear of professional retaliation, told The Daily they recalled three separate instances in which students came to them with concerns over Gloeckner’s classroom conduct. These students expressed concern over Gloeckner’s alleged presentation of graphic and racially insensitive material in class. Leila said concern surrounding Gloeckner’s curriculum began on

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the first day of ArtDes 336 in the fall of 2020. Gloeckner assigned students to replicate a cartoon by illustrator Robert Crumb. In interviews with The Daily, multiple students expressed discomfort with the image, which portrayed a woman leaning against a window. One student said they felt the comic was “misogynistic.” Crumb is known for his controversial work and role in the Underground Comix movement. Leila said that in class the next day, students expressed their discomfort with the material to Gloeckner. Gloeckner assigned students to watch a documentary on Crumb in response to student concerns. In interviews with The Daily, six students said the documentary involved graphic discussions of rape and misogynistic depictions of women. These students allege that Gloeckner did not provide a content or trigger warning before assigning the documentary. Leila said she felt like the documentary assignment was a punishment for students not agreeing with class material. “I don’t care if she likes Robert Crumb,” Leila said. “It was more the fact that (she) was like, ‘You guys must like it, and if you don’t like it, there’s going to be consequences.’ And there were consequences.” A former Art & Design student who took ArtDes 336 with Leila corroborated Leila’s account. This student also requested anonymity, citing a fear of professional repercussions. In this article, the student will be referred to as Spencer. Spencer said that Gloeckner presented cartoons with racist and misogynistic themes in class. Spencer felt personally offended by these materials.