California IN BRIEF : STANFORD : Harassment Charge Brings Demotion

Dr. Gerald Silverberg, acting chairman of Stanford University Medical School’s neurosurgery department, has been demoted amid allegations that he sexually harassed a female colleague. Silverberg said he was asked last week to step down as chairman by Medical School Dean Dr. David Korn and university President Donald Kennedy. Silverberg, who has worked at Stanford for 30 years, said he also was told he will not be considered a candidate for permanent chairman of the department. The allegations were made by Dr. Frances Conley, who resigned from her post at Stanford last year, claiming she suffered subtle sexual harassment over the 25 years she was with the school. She claimed Silverberg propositioned her and demeaned her in the operating room. Conley, also a neurosurgeon, has since decided to remain at Stanford. Silverberg said he was demoted because the school could not deal with the negative media attention of the allegations and denied that he was guilty of the harassment. He also questioned the school’s investigation of the allegations, but said he would stay at Stanford because he feels a responsibility to the doctors he recruited and trained.