After a yearlong hiatus to address issues of sexual harassment, bullying and other unprofessional behaviors, the University of Colorado philosophy department is again accepting applications for its graduate programs.

CU suspended philosophy graduate admissions for the fall of 2014 while the department underwent a series of reforms to address inappropriate behaviors and a climate that was reportedly unfriendly to women. Only internal candidates were considered for philosophy graduate programs this fall.

The department announced on its website Wednesday that it’s now accepting graduate applications for the 2015-2016 academic year.

“This is definitely a positive step and I’m cautiously optimistic that we can recover from the events of the last year,” said philosophy professor Graham Oddie.

The philosophy department has been under scrutiny since last fall, when it requested a review by the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on the Status of Women Site Visit Program. CU revealed the results of that review in late January.

Though light on details, the report cited 15 complaints made to the university’s Office of Discrimination and Harassment since 2007 and found that women were leaving or trying to leave the department because they felt anxious, depressed or demoralized.

“It is our strong conclusion that the department maintains an environment with unacceptable sexual harassment, inappropriate sexualized unprofessional behavior and divisive uncivil behavior,” according to the report.

Campus administrators brought in linguistics chairman Andy Cowell to lead the philosophy department and at the same time suspended graduate admissions because they felt they couldn’t guarantee a safe and welcoming environment to incoming students, Cowell said.

After turbulent year, excitement about the future

The department set out to improve its climate. Faculty members and students underwent training, set goals and held retreats to address issues of collegiality, harassment and discrimination.

Cowell said the department reached a “tipping point” at a September retreat — people were no longer focused on the past, but talking excitedly about the future.

“Two or three faculty members over the last week came to me with ideas for improvements,” he said. “People are actually sitting around thinking about ‘What else could we do?'”

Cowell acknowledged that the graduate student applicant pool could be smaller or less qualified because of the recent negative attention around the department. But potential applicants should be encouraged by the department’s willingness to address its issues and move forward, Cowell said.

“The awareness of the issues is extremely high,” he said. “Everything from actual policy violations to ‘Let’s be as professional as possible. Let’s be as supportive of each other as possible. Let’s not downgrade each other as scholars.’ This department is more aware and more proactive on these issues than virtually any department in the country. In a way, you should come here.”

Though the department has hired two new faculty members recently, administrators are moving to fire tenured associate professor David Barnett. Barnett is accused of retaliating against a female philosophy graduate student, who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a male graduate student.

The university paid the woman an $825,000 in settlement in early August, and she remains a graduate student in the department.

Another professor, Dan Kaufman, is seeking $2 million in damages from CU after being banished from campus last spring. The university is also investigating philosophy professor Brad Monton.

‘We’re not looking to be punitive’

Without mentioning names, the university wrote in a news release Wednesday that it’s investigating “all allegations of sexual harassment and other unprofessional conduct” and expects to conclude those investigations this semester.

Problems still exist, but the department is taking charge of its own fate with support from the administration, Cowell said.

“There are issues certainly,” Cowell said. “We have one faculty member who has received a notice of intent to dismiss and that’s not a positive thing. It’s unsettling for the faculty. But I think the administration has come forward with a lot of support that says ‘We’re not looking to be punitive or disenable the department.'”

Professor Michael Tooley, however, said he expects to see a decline in applications because the department’s reputation has been “seriously harmed.”

Though he didn’t feel there was ever a danger to students, Tooley said he appreciates the decision to reopen graduate admissions.

“It’s a very positive move,” Tooley said. “It will significantly benefit students who are already here, and should make the faculty feel more comfortable with the way things are going. It will also be helpful in terms of playing a role in restoring the good reputation of the department nationally and internationally.”

Contact Camera Staff Writer Sarah Kuta at 303-473-1106 or kutas@dailycamera.com