Comments on: Felner’s Troubles Began in the 1980s

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:48:14 +0000

jake, In all the mess involving Felner, I believe there was mentioned an embezzlement case at UL (Health Sciences) last year.

Has anything ever been reported about that case?

By: jake

jake — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:15:48 +0000

Auburn grad: You may read all of the Felner stories by Clicking Here or clicking the Robert Felner tag on the left-hand side of the site.

By: Another Auburn grad

Another Auburn grad — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:01:14 +0000

Everything that I have read in the previous 39 entries mirrors the experiences and events that I experienced as a grad student in the Auburn program while Felner was the Clinical Director there in the mid-80s. Faculty resigned because they would not be intimidated by him; our department chair turned a deaf ear to repeated complaints and pleas. Paranoia and outright fear were rampant, he gossiped about students to other students behind their back, and sexual “issues” and inappropriate relationships were blatant. I became someone I didn’t recognize (fear-based anger) and could not leave that program soon enough. Rumor had it that he was finally asked to leave when he tried to intimidate the wrong “higher up” at AU. And it is clear that the same thing has gone on and on and on and on. What the heck is wrong with academe? What the HECK IS WRONG?

By: Auburn grad

Auburn grad — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:59:31 +0000

bobbiBefore Dr. Felner went to UIUC, he was clinical director at Auburn University where I was a graduate student in the clincal psychology program. All I have read from other clincal students at UIUC sounds identical to my experiences with Dr. Felner at Auburn. His ability to intimidate many of the students, create an environment of paranoia, and his relationship with a blond female student were known to all.
Despite his pattern of inappropriate behavior, he has many positive qualities including a charming manner and the intellect and ability to succeed in research. These are most likely the qualities that have allowed him to be so successful for so long.
Since becoming an academic myself in the late 80s I have observed that academicians are highly unlikely to ever write a negative evaluation of a colleague unless that colleague endangers the status quo. Saying anything negative about someone such as Dr. Felner would leave you open to attack, either directly or indirectly through his friends (articles rejected, grant proposals denied, job applications denied, etc.). Perhaps this is the greatest negative consequence of being a student in a program where Dr. Felner was the clinical director. That is, you have learned that by speaking up you may become a target.
Personally, I was never negatively effected by Dr. Felner. However, his legacy on other students and faculty has been quite negative. A cartoon placed on his office door at Auburn sums up Felner for me. The cartoon depcited the King of Id saying something along the lines of “I cant be King if you won’t let me.”

By: jake

jake — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:04:17 +0000

Innocent until proven guilty.

Remember it.

Hope all you want, but remember it.

By: ed

ed — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:02:33 +0000

You said it well, PWK….send him off to jail. When he was in RI, he had no “professional strangle hold” at all on me. Fed up with him, I told him the only reason they named that complex after Napoleon, is because he hadn’t yet crawled out from under his rock.

Yup…little bobby felner….in jail…with his cell mate Bubba.

Nice thought.

By: PWK

PWK — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:30:34 +0000

This man has done more damage than any other human I’ve met. He has a Napoleonic complex (or short man’s syndrome) – he’s a pathological liar, maybe bi-polar – and I’m wondering, as a former employee of his, and a victim of his cruelty ,whether we should hate him or feel sorry for him. No matter how all of you feel, I hope they can convict him and send him to jail. With no job to go to, and 5 ex-wives – how is going to exist otherwise?

By: UIUCgrad

UIUCgrad — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:43:59 +0000

I was also a grad student at UIUC during those awful years. It took the faculty a long time to really catch on despite many complaints by students and some faculty. I think they just couldn’t believe that he would outright lie to them. He failed out my best friend, claiming that she wasn’t making progress when actually he was failing to ever read her documents or meet with her.

He also managed to fail out someone who is now a vice provost of a top University.
One year, when students were awaiting news of matches for internships, the faculty realized almost too late that he was in Europe and had failed to send out the crucial letters necessary saying that the 9 students were ok’d to go out on internship. Some last minute scrambling was necessary by all so that those students would not be automatically rejected by their internship sites.
But it was not until he failed to supervise a group of undergraduates whose parents got involved and went to the top UIUC administrators with complaints that the empire began to crumble.

Sadest to me personally, besides the loss of brilliant students failed out seemingly randomly, as Dr. A. says, was the deterioration of a community feeling that had facilitated lots of exciting work before he came.

The lack of trust after he came was palpable among students and faculty.

He actually told us he had cancer, when he actually did not.
why do that?

The day that we got the notices in our boxes that he had been removed (was “stepping down”) from the Clinical Division, we coincidentally had a party later that afternoon. At the party, a large number of us realized that we had each hummed “ding dong the witch is dead” as we read that notice earlier in the day.

Does this man deserve compassion?
Yes, but only after he is stopped from ever having contact again with any students. UIUC tried to do that. Obviously his ability to move on and re-invent himself is skillful.

By: Tirnstile

Tirnstile — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:25:40 +0000

The little guy is now off of the CEHD Dean’s page. :)

By: Elaine

Elaine — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:36:19 +0000

Jake. Thanks again for all your hard work. I agree that one of the central questions involves Felner’s ability to remain at institutions for so long, promote to positions of increasing authority and do so much damage before being ousted from one school and passed on to another with FAVORABLE references.

I believe that the fundamental cause is cowardice. I know, from personal experience, that, at UIUC, no action was taken against him until those in a position to stop him saw more personal risk in his staying than in his leaving. The ETHICS of having such a destructive force at the university was of little concern as was his devastating impact on students and relatively dispensible faculty members.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)