Margaret Czerwienski, Lilia Kilburn, and Amulya Mandava have accused Harvard University of both disregarding allegations that Dr John Comaroff sexually harassed students for years, and of allowing him to intimidate students by threatening their academic careers if they reported him, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
According to the lawsuit filed in a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard allegedly ignored numerous red flags, which allowed Professor John Comaroff to sexually harass one student and harm her career, as well as jeopardising the careers of two of her fellow students who spoke in her defence, as cited in the report.
The Harvard authorities found that Dr Comaroff did indeed engage in verbal conduct violating policies on sexual and gender-based harassment, but he was not found responsible for unwanted sexual contact, according to the newspaper. The professor was later placed on administrative leave until the spring semester and prohibited from teaching for the next academic year.