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INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 83
©2022 The Michigan Daily
N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
O PIN IO N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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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
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.
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
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
Read more at michigandaily.com
CALLIE TEITELBAUM
Daily Staff Reporter
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
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.
Design by Serena Shen