[jonnyss]

And everyone in my peer group and all the younger people I know consider the relationship to have been inappropriate -- poor judgment on the part of the student and an abuse of power on the part of the dean.

I think most would agree that a relationship between a married 47 y/o university dean and a 22 y/o undergrad who was dating someone else at the time was inappropriate.  I know lots of people in positions of power, but I don't think I personally know anyone who's been in a relationship with such a tremendous gap in age and experience.  I know age gaps were common in my parents' generation, but in my circle, almost everyone is still married to their first spouse and spouses are mostly within a few years of each other.  I know some people who got divorced and ended up re-marrying someone maybe 7 years younger.  47 and 22 is gross.

The question of whether the dean abused power is a different one.  I don't have a strong opinion on that because of the lack of any sort of teaching or supervising relationship.  Maybe there were details in the article that I skimmed that addressed the power dynamics in this particular situation, but I didn't see those details.

not so rare for powerful men to be much older than their women partners. melania was 28 and donald 52 when they met. rupert is 26 years older than his wife and 36 years older than a previous wife. gerard butler 25 years older. george clooney 19 years older, bradley cooper 20 years older, harrison ford 22 years older, don johnson 21 years, ryan seacrest 23 years, alex baldwin 26 years, clint eastwood 21 years then 36 years then 30 years, steve martin 26 years, nelson mandela 26 years (last wife), william shatner 30 years, kelsey grammer 25 years, sylvester stallone 22 years. congressman john rose (tennessee) 24 years and she was 17 when they met. the list goes on.

possible that what is rare (and more often stigmatized) is for the woman to be older. highly publicized that susan sarandon is 12 years older than tim robbins.

[jonnyss]

And everyone in my peer group and all the younger people I know consider the relationship to have been inappropriate -- poor judgment on the part of the student and an abuse of power on the part of the dean.

I think most would agree that a relationship between a married 47 y/o university dean and a 22 y/o undergrad who was dating someone else at the time was inappropriate.  I know lots of people in positions of power, but I don't think I personally know anyone who's been in a relationship with such a tremendous gap in age and experience.  I know age gaps were common in my parents' generation, but in my circle, almost everyone is still married to their first spouse and spouses are mostly within a few years of each other.  I know some people who got divorced and ended up re-marrying someone maybe 7 years younger.  47 and 22 is gross.

The question of whether the dean abused power is a different one.  I don't have a strong opinion on that because of the lack of any sort of teaching or supervising relationship.  Maybe there were details in the article that I skimmed that addressed the power dynamics in this particular situation, but I didn't see those details.

not so rare for powerful men to be much older than their women partners. melania was 28 and donald 52 when they met. rupert is 26 years older than his wife and 36 years older than a previous wife. gerard butler 25 years older. george clooney 19 years older, bradley cooper 20 years older, harrison ford 22 years older, don johnson 21 years, ryan seacrest 23 years, alex baldwin 26 years, clint eastwood 21 years then 36 years then 30 years, steve martin 26 years, nelson mandela 26 years (last wife), william shatner 30 years, kelsey grammer 25 years, sylvester stallone 22 years. congressman john rose (tennessee) 24 years and she was 17 when they met. the list goes on.

possible that what is rare (and more often stigmatized) is for the woman to be older. highly publicized that susan sarandon is 12 years older than tim robbins.