Hunter College Settles With U.S. Department of Education for Mishandling Sexual Harassment Cases

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Hunter College has settled with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for mishandling as many as 13 sexual harassment cases in the last three academic years.

The Upper East Side college will be forced to completely revamp its procedures regarding cases of sexual harassment, including retraining its entire staff, re-examining all complaints of harassment made in the past three years, and providing yearly training to help educate students about sexual misconduct and what steps to take in reporting it, according to the terms of the settlement.

"By entering into this agreement, CUNY and Hunter College demonstrate a strong commitment to address and prevent sexual harassment and violence among students, staff and the CUNY community at large," said Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the DOE, in a statement. "We look forward to working with CUNY and Hunter College to implement this agreement, including through ensuring a university-wide culture of prevention, support and safety."

In a 2014 investigation OCR found that Hunter College had violated Title IX laws — which prohibit sex discrimination at any university receiving federal funding. A botched response to a student's claim that a professor at the college sexually harassed her triggered the OCR investigation.

The student alleged that she had registered complaints of sexual harassment against one of the college's professors in August 2011 and May 2012, but the college did not investigate the claim until September of 2012, according to the OCR's investigation. The student also claimed that because of the complaints the college retaliated against her, but the OCR investigation yielded insufficient evidence to confirm those allegations.

After Hunter College finally started to investigate the student's claim administrators found the conduct of the professor was inappropriate and that the professor "preyed upon the Complainant’s immaturity," according to the investigation.

Hunter College eventually settled with the professor in order to end their relationship with the college and sent an email to the student to let them know the professor no longer worked at the college. No other remedies were offered to the student, according to the OCR investigation.

Hunter College acknowledged the settlement in a statement, making it clear that the settlement was made without "admission of liability."

Hunter College has agreed to a settlement with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education without any admission of liability. OCR found that Hunter “did take some important and appropriate steps to investigate and address the allegations.” Hunter College and CUNY have always been committed to maintaining a campus environment free from discrimination, intimidation, or violence of any sort. It is a core value of the College and a goal we vigorously pursue by broadly disseminating our policies and rigorously enforcing them. Hunter College and CUNY will continue to work diligently to comply with Title IX rules.

Photo: Flickr user r0sss via creative commons