University of Rochester Sexual Harassment Case

I noticed today that two female professors at the University of Rochester are among those named “Person of Year: Silence Breakers” by Time Magazine. I imagine that has stomachs a-churning in the university administration building. 

This is a tangled tale, but briefly: these women accused a male colleague, Dr. Florian Jaeger, of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, stark-naked hot tub parties with grad students at which someone overdosed on something... and more. The women later accused the U of R administration of retaliating against them for reporting the matter. This turned into a very damaging complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by the two professors and six other faculty members.

All this has attracted  national media attention (see Further Reading below). Like a train wreck, it's fascinating in a prurient way, even though it must be a nightmare for the people involved. The world will little note, nor long remember, the comments of this observer, but as an alumnus I'm going to make some observations anyway. 

I am not uninformed. I have read every statement I could find by the university administration on this matter, including U of R president Joel Seligman’s letter describing the internal investigation lead by in-house attorney Catherine Nearpass, its multiple internal reviews and the appeal. I have also read the articles listed below and the 111-page EEOC complaint (see link in the New York Times article).

Based on all that reading, I have to question whether the university's internal investigation was properly conducted and accurate in its findings. It cleared Jaeger of any violations of school policy. But what about those policies themselves? One has to wonder whether they are robust enough.

"The fact that Seligman and [Provost Robert] Clark were sleeping with their subordinates may have dulled their sensitivity to the perils Jaeger’s behavior posed to students and UR’s reputation." - Particulars of Charge of Discrimination, Aslin, Canton et al v. University of Rochester

The university's investigation apparently dismissed all the allegations against Jaeger as ”hearsay” and “unproven” or simply not worth pursuing. But didn’t the administration have a responsibility to dig deeper and ascertain if there was any truth to the hearsay, instead of simply dismissing it as unproven? When your employees come to you with allegations of harassment and discrimination, should they be dismissed because the accuser failed to prove them? 

I think not. That standard sets the bar much too high. It gives the appearance of a university that hides behind the rules of evidence instead of protecting its employees and students. 

Most of all - and I cannot stress this enough - I am shocked that Dr. Jaeger was promoted to full professor with tenure while the university's own internal investigation was still underway.  President Seligman has called this a "mistake," but I call it inexplicable and impossible to justify. It never would have happened at any of the corporations I worked at during my 36-year career. 

In fact, if I had behaved the way Jaeger did, I would have been fired or asked to resign long before the matter reached the advanced stage the university finds itself at now. As I understand it, Jaeger is now on some sort of suspension ("administrative leave"), but apparently still an employee. 

I never thought I would see the day when the University of Rochester was embroiled in such a sordid affair. Apart from the damage done to lives and careers, it's very disillusioning to me personally because it conflicts so sharply with my memories of the time I spent at this fine school. This was a formative stage in my life. I was very impressed with this community of highly intelligent, well-educated people who chose to live on the isolated, frozen River Campus in upstate New York because they were serious about scholarship and academics. Back when I was a freshman, I was proud to have even gained admission to the University of Rochester. But now the school's reputation has been damaged on the national stage. 

There is likely more to come. The findings of yet another investigation will be made public in a few weeks. The EEOC complaint still has to be resolved. The publicity accompanying those events is going to be brutal. Sadly, with everything that has come to light, people are going to wonder what else the U of R has swept under the rug. Meliora!

Further Reading

Cauterucci, Christina. An Example of the System Gone Awry. Slate. September 14, 2017.

Pauly, Madison. She Was a Rising Star at a Major University. Then a Lecherous Professor Made Her Life Hell. Mother Jones. September 8, 2017.

Wang, Vivian. Rochester Launches New Inquiry Into Harassment Accusations. New York Times. September 20, 2017. Includes link to EEOC complaint.

Wits, Alexandra. Nine Researchers Sue University of Rochester Over Sexual Harassment Allegations. Nature. December 11, 2017.

Update: January 13, 2018

The report of the independent investigation conducted by Debevoise & Plimpton LLC is now available at http://urindependentinvestigation.net/ .