sexual misconduct
TagConference Anti-Harassment Wiki
The Geek Feminism Wiki, a site aimed primarily at people involved in computing and technology, has a “Conference anti-harrasment” page. Brought to my attention by Maarten Steenhagen (thanks!), the site has a sample conference anti-harassment policy, a resource page with suggestions and answers to frequently asked questions, and other information.
In answer to the..
Lockwood v. Tooley on “Sexual Assault on Campus”
Heidi Lockwood (Southern Connecticut) and Michael Tooley (Colorado) met at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) earlier this month for a debate sponsored by VCU’s Department of Philosophy. The subject was “Sexual Assault on Campus.” A video of the event was kindly provided to me by Mikhail Valdman, who moderated the event and cleared its release with the relevant ..
Dismissal of Undergrad’s Suit Against Northwestern Upheld
The February 2014 lawsuit filed by a Northwestern University undergraduate claiming that the university “didn’t respond adequately after she reported being sexually assaulted by philosophy Prof. Peter Ludlow,” dismissed in November, had its dismissal upheld this past Thursday in response to  a motion by the undergraduate to reconsider the decision. The Daily Northwe..
Ludlow’s Defamation Suit Dismissed
Judge John P. Callahan of the Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court has dismissed Peter Ludlow’s defamation lawsuit against a Northwestern University undergraduate who had accused him of sexual assault (previously; related material here). Ludlow’s lawsuit claimed that “the student knowingly made false statements to news media and Northwestern professors after  rebuffe..
Ludlow’s Lawsuit Against Northwestern Dismissed
Peter Ludlow’s legal claims against Northwestern University (previously), which included a Title IX claim, defamation and false light publicity claims, and a civil conspiracy claim, have all been dismissed, according to a ruling from Judge Sara L. Ellis of the US District Court (Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division). From the ruling:
Northwestern Unive..
Sexual Misconduct at Arizona State’s Honors College
In light of recent discussions of professor-student sexual relations (here, for example), readers might be interested in learning of about what has been happening at Barrett, the Honors College of Arizona State University.
In the past few years, Barrett has terminated the contracts of at least three professors who engaged in sexual relationships with students. Jo..
CU Faculty Panel: Barnett Did Not Retaliate Against Student
The faculty panel responsible for reviewing the University of Colorado’s allegations against associate professor of philosophy David Barnett (previously) has concluded that he is not guilty of retaliation. While university administrators had wanted to fire Barnett, the panel voted 4-1 for a one year suspension without pay instead. Barnett had been accused of retalia..
New Motion in Ludlow Case; Faculty Respond (with updates from Kvanvig, Garthoff, and Lockwood)
A new motion was filed on January 6th by lawyers for the undergraduate student allegedly assaulted by Northwestern University professor of philosophy Peter Ludlow (previously). The student’s lawsuit against Northwestern for mishandling her complaints was dismissed this past November. This motion claims to establish that there is newly discovered evidence that should..
Statement from Colorado’s Tenured Women Philosophers
The tenured women philosophy professors at the University of Colorado—Carol Cleland, Alison Jaggar, Mi-Kyoung “Mitzi” Lee, and Claudia Mills (emeritus)—have jointly authored a statement about the recent events involving their department. The statement, published in The Daily Camera, expresses their intention to “repudiate a secret culture of misbehavior and to w..
James Murphy (not Tooley) on “The Colorado Sex Scandal” (corrected & updated)
CORRECTION: It appears that, contrary to what I initially posted, Professor Tooley did not write the report mentioned in this post. I was provided a link to the report by a source who prefers to remain anonymous, was told it was by Tooley, and it is hosted on Tooley’s site. However, according to this page, the author of the report is one James Murphy. My apologies t..
Northwestern U. Student Asks Judge To Reconsider
The Northwestern University undergraduate whose Title IX lawsuit against Northwestern University, for its handling of her alleged sexual assault by philosophy professor Peter Ludlow, had been dismissed, is asking a judge to reconsider his decision, according to an article in The Daily Northwestern.
The student’s new motion is apparently spurred by her acquisition..
Sit-in At Northwestern Re: Ludlow Suit (updated)
A group of graduate and undergraduate students at Northwestern University, including members of the department of philosophy, are planning a sit-in for tomorrow at the office of university president Morton Schapiro to protest the university’s decision to mediate its lawsuit with Peter Ludlow (previously), rather than continue with it in court. The university is only..
Monton Resigns from Colorado
Brad Monton will resign from his position as associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, effective June 1st, 2015. In exchange, the university will pay him an additional $120,000 and halt its investigation into him for possible violations of its policies regarding amorous relationships with students. Monton is currently on paid leave, and will n..
Student’s Suit Against Northwestern Dismissed
The lawsuit against Northwestern University by the student who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Peter Ludlow was thrown out by a federal judge earlier today. The lawsuit had claimed that the university had mishandled the student’s complaints, and asked for the university to pay her medical and legal bills, her tuition, and to compensate her for emotional distre..
Update on Stubblefield Case
Anna Stubblefield, a professor of philosophy at Rutgers-Newark who had been accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled student in her office (previously), will be in court in December and January for a pair of evidence hearings, according to an article at NJ.com.
From the article:
Prosecutors allege Stubblefield, 44, of West Orange, repeatedly sexually..
Barnett Sues CU-Boulder for $2m (updated)
David Barnett, whom the University of Colorado is moving to fire (previously), is suing the university for $2 million, claiming that university Chancellor Phil DiStefano and philosophy professor Alison Jaggar made defamatory statements about him. From The Daily Camera:
In his notice of claim, Barnett says the statements made by CU officials have damaged his reput..
Open Letter from the Northwestern Philosophy Graduate Students (Guest Post)
In June it was reported that Peter Ludlow was suing officials, a professor, and a graduate student at Northwestern University for defamation, gender discrimination and invasion of privacy. The following guest post* is an open letter to the philosophical community adopted by the Northwestern University Philosophy Graduate Students by way of a vote.
Open Letter from..
Report on the Yale Case from IHE
Inside Higher Ed reports on the recent social-media publicizing of allegations of sexual misconduct against “a professor of philosophy at Yale University.” (previously here and here, with a discussion of some of the relevant issues here.)
Yale Seeks Information About Sexual Misconduct
Jason Stanley (Yale) writes:
I just met with Professor Stephanie Spangler, Yale’s Deputy Provost for Health Affairs and Academic Integrity and also the University’s Title IX Coordinator. She is responsible for oversight of the University’s policies and programs to address and prevent gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct (which are summarized at http://s..
A Name to Accompany the Accusations
The accusations of sexual misconduct against an as-of-yet-officially unnamed prominent moral and political philosopher (previously here and here) are no longer being made anonymously. They are now being advanced by a friend of one of the alleged victims, a Yale 2010 graduate named Emma Sloan. Ms. Sloan is soliciting funds for the legal case of her friend at this sit..
The Oxford Case and University Responses to Harassment
Times Higher Education has published “Let’s Discuss The Way We Live Now,” an essay by Luke Brunning, a DPhil student in philosophy at Oxford, on the importance of universities taking students’ perspectives seriously in the aftermath of allegations of harassment or sexual misconduct by faculty.