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CORVALLIS, Ore. - A national expert on bullying in the workplace will visit Oregon State University, on Tuesday, March 8, when he offers a presentation on "Workplace Bullying: The Silent Epidemic." The free, public event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at LaSells Stewart Center.
Gary Namie, a researcher, consultant and activist on the issue of adult-to-adult bullying, will present research findings and strategies for the institution as well as individuals.  He defines workplace bullying as repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons - the "targets" - by one or more perpetrators.

"When abuse becomes routine, the work environment is toxic," Namie said. "Quality work and employee engagement are impossible. Neither is bullying conflict between two equally-powered individuals who simply disagree over intellectual ideas...  Bullying is violence and not subject to mediation."

Namie will also conduct workshops for the OSU campus community on March 8. From 9 to 11 a.m., he will offer "Workplace Bullying: Support is Not Servility," for OSU non-academic and classified employees. From 1 to 3 p.m., he will offer "Bullies in the Academe: Brittle, Brutal, Abusive" to OSU faculty and students.

According to national surveys by the Workplace Bullying Institute, 35 percent of adult Americans report being bullied at work; an additional 15 percent witness it and vicariously are made miserable.

As a pioneer in raising awareness about bullying, Namie directs a national network of citizen lobbyists working to pass into law the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill.  In 1997, he and his wife Ruth Namie began a research and education organization, now the Workplace Bullying Institute based in Bellingham, Wash. Their focus includes prevention as well as a system that helps employers to constrain unacceptable behavior; they also educate individuals about how to respond when "targeted."

Namie's visit is part of the OSU President and Provost's Speaker Series, hosted by the President's Commission on the Status of Women and the Office of Community & Diversity.

For more information, call Office of Community & Diversity 541-737-4381.