I am growing increasingly concerned with a culture of meanness that is growing in scope within the university setting. Whereas I used to have one or two students a year that might not be well suited for a human service profession for many reasons, such as what you described, that number is increasing steadily. It seems to have taken a bit of a sharp spike upward in trend in the last year, in particular. I'm finding myself taken aback at the nasty comments directed at one another and about others in conversations with me, and the justifications for acting that way, and I'm worried.

Yes, people remain responsible for their own actions, but too many are viewing his behavior as carte-blanche permission to unleash their inner jerk.

He bears some responsibility for the second part, and full responsibility for name-calling and personal attacks on others. He's in a leadership position. He should lead. And at least try to set a better example.

But this gets back to the underlying temperament concerns we've been talking about for two years now. He is who he is and he's not going to change.