Univ. of Rochester President Resigns Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
The president announced his resignation hours before the release of an independent report regarding sexual harassment claims against a prominent professor.
A 113-page complaint was filed by several faculty members claiming a professor created a "hostile environment" for at least 11 women.
The president of the University of Rochester announced his resignation on Thursday, just hours before an external investigation cleared him and his administration of accusations that they had covered up sexual harassment by a prominent professor.
Joel Seligman’s resignation announcement came on the same day an independent Special Committee released the results of an investigation into how the New York school handled allegations of sexual harassment against Professor T. Florian Jaeger.
“It is clear to me that the best interests of the University are best served with new leadership, and a fresh perspective to focus on healing our campus and moving us forward in a spirit of cooperation and unity,” Seligman wrote in an email.
Jaeger, a brain and cognitive sciences professor, is accused of creating a “hostile environment” for at least 11 women. Jaegers is alleged to have sent pictures of his genitals to students and tried to sleep with them on many occasions, reports Gizmodo.
The accusations were included in a 113-page complaint filed with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A federal lawsuit was also filed in December.
The complaint was filed on September 1 by several University of Rochester staff members who claim Jaeger engaged in years of sexual misconduct and harassment since joining the university back in 2007. It referred to Jaeger as “narcissistic and a manipulative sexual predator” and alleged he used his status as a high-ranking faculty member to sexually harass students, according to RBJ.
Doctor Celeste Kidd, one of the staff members who filed the complaint, alleges she was another victim of Jaeger’s.
In March 2007, just three months on the job, Kidd says she interviewed with Jaegar for the Ph.D. Program at BCS where she experienced a slew of inappropriate advances and Facebook messages.
In another incident, Kidd says while attending a conference in San Diego, she saw Jaegar engage intimately with a fellow Ph.D. candidate. When she sent Jaeger a Facebook message regarding her discomfort, Jaeger said the university had approved his relationship with the candidate.
The complaint also alleges he manipulated students by saying having sex with him was the only path to career advancement and offered academic favoritism to graduate students he slept with.
The newly released independent report, compiled by law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, says Jaeger’s behavior was “insensitive, unprofessional and cruel”, but that he did not violate university policy.
Although the report says it found no evidence that Jaeger created a hostile work environment by legal standards, it acknowledges that several women have avoided working with him because he made them feel uncomfortable and that the woman missed out on educational opportunities as a result, according to The New York Times.
“The report admits students suffered for his actions. I suffered,” says Kidd. “The report describes Florian Jaeger as the predator that I know him to be.”
Seligman was largely exonerated of wrongdoing in the report as well, but has been highly criticized for how he handled the accusations made against Jaeger.
“I would have to say that President Seligman’s resignation is some vindication that what we were doing (raising the complaints) is right,” says Richard Aslin, one of the complainants and a prominent UR researcher for over 30 years who left the university in protest.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren also supports his resignation, calling it “a positive step forward toward establishing a culture at this important local institution that fosters openness in an environment of respect.”
Seligman says he intends to take a one-year sabbatical and then return to the school as a faculty member. His resignation takes effect February 28.
“I made this decision before I knew what was in the report,” Seligman wrote in an email to The New York Times. “This was purely my decision. I was not asked by the board to leave, but after a month or so of reflection I came to believe that the best interest of the university required a fresh start under a new leader.”
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About the Author
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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