A Lawsuit Accuses Harvard of Ignoring Sexual Harassment by a Professor

Simply final month, the College of Michigan dismissed its president for his failure to reveal an affair with a subordinate, and Florida Worldwide College’s president abruptly resigned, apologizing for having “induced discomfort for a valued colleague.”

At Harvard, each side are sad with the administration’s dealing with of Dr. Comaroff’s case. The ladies say that he manipulated the system towards them by recruiting influential teachers to his facet, closing off mentoring alternatives for them. His attorneys branded the inner assessment course of that resulted in sanctions towards him a “kangaroo court docket.”

In what could also be a sign of the problems at stake, certainly one of Dr. Comaroff’s attorneys, Janet Halley, a outstanding feminist legislation professor at Harvard, has been a critic of the adjudication of Title IX instances for missing due course of.

In court docket papers filed Tuesday, Ms. Kilburn, the graduate scholar, stated Dr. Comaroff’s rape feedback have been a part of a sample of misbehavior that she skilled at his arms. Within the winter of 2017, as she was attempting to resolve between Harvard and Columbia, Dr. Comaroff took her to lunch and, in line with the lawsuit and an interview, whereas saying goodbye, pressed towards her and kissed her on her mouth. He whispered, “Go go to Columbia, however then come again right here,” in line with the grievance.

“I used to be determined to assume that it was an accident, however his subsequent conduct made it clear that it was not,” she stated. Throughout a brunch at his home, he adopted her as she went to get her bag, she stated, and as soon as once more leaned in for a kiss.

“Ms. Kilburn pushed him away and wiped her mouth, solely to search out Professor Comaroff smiling at her,” the grievance says. She started avoiding him, skipping weekly conferences and dressing extra conservatively, the grievance says. One other time, he squeezed her thigh whereas passing by her in a lecture corridor, the court docket papers say.