Kenneth Westhues is a Canadian
sociologist. He is a professor emeritus of Sociology at the
University of Waterloo, where he was the chair of the department from 1975 to 1978. He is the author or editor of several books about
workplace bullying in academia.
Westhues was a professor of Sociology at the
University of Guelph in 1971.[3] He subsequently joined the Sociology department at the
University of Waterloo, where he was the department chair from 1975 to 1978.[4]
Westhues initially published research about the relationship between church and state.[5] He subsequently published research about the
hippie movement.[3] Westhues authored and edited several books about
workplace bullying in academia. His research found that
vulnerability was increased by personal differences such as being a foreigner or of a different sex; by working in a
post-modern field such as music or literature; financial pressure; or having an aggressive superior.[6] Other factors included
envy,
heresy and
campus politics.[6]