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James Maas

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Dr. James Maas is a social psychologist best known for his work in the field of sleep research, specifically the relationship between sleep and performance. He famously coined the term "power nap" and wrote the best-selling book Power Sleep.

For over forty years, he has taught Psychology 101 at Cornell University in the US. At times this class has had an enrollment of up to 1,900 students making it the largest class in the country. Since he began teaching, he has instructed over 50,000 students. The class is taught in Bailey Hall.

He holds a B.A. from Williams College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell.


Controversy

In the spring of 1994, four of Maas' former students charged him with harassment, claiming he had inappropriately touched and kissed them and repeatedly used sexual innuendo. One woman said he had grabbed her breast, while another said he had given her thousands of dollars worth of gifts, including jewelry and clothing .

Following an investigation by the College's Senior Sexual Harassment Counselor, the Professional Ethics Committee held five days of hearings. The Committee unanimously found that Maas had repeatedly behaved unprofessionally and inappropriately in his relationships with the students, and that his behavior was in fact, sexual harassment. The Dean of the College upheld the Committee's determination. Maas then sued Cornell, alleging eight causes of action, including unlawful adoption of procedures, breach of contract for failure to observe bylaws and procedures, and negligence. The University moved to dismiss all causes of action and, alternatively, to convert the action into a CPLR article 78 review proceeding. Maas opposed the procedural conversion and maintained that he had viable grounds to pursue the breach of contract action. The Supreme Court granted Cornell's motion. It dismissed all but the two negligence causes of action. The court stated that none of the allegations in the complaint specifies the terms of the asserted contract between Maas and Cornell which Maas claims were violated. Upon remittal, before the Supreme Court, the remaining portions of the case were dismissed. In doing this, the Supreme Court put the entire matter out of court .

The popular professor was stripped of a $25,000 teaching award that he had received in 1993, and was told that if there were any more complaints he would lose his job .

Maas retained his tenured teaching position and has gradually regained his standing at the University.


References

  1. http://chronicle.com/che-data/articles.dir/art-41.dir/issue-43.dir/43a01401.htm
  2. http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I99_0157.htm
  3. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982766-2,00.html


External links

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