Alaska university investigated ex-teacher over allegations | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Alaska university investigated ex-teacher over allegations

Original Publication Date March 26, 2019 - 5:01 PM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A retired University of Alaska Anchorage professor was the subject of a university investigation over sexual misconduct allegations by multiple women going back decades, including one who said he accosted her in a shower.

A copy of an investigative Title IX report obtained by Anchorage television station KTVA states investigators found the accusations by the nine women credible.

One of the women said she was using a public shower when the anthropology professor entered fully naked and accosted her during a trip to Delta Junction to get supplies, according to the report dated March 15.

The woman told investigators that when her husband applied for a job in the professor's department, the professor told her he would ensure a favourable vote for her spouse if she would have sex with him. The woman said her husband withdrew his job application instead.

Other women said the professor would stare at their breasts and make them feel uncomfortable. One woman said when she complained to the professor that he was taking an unusually long time to grade an exam, he suggested she spank him. That woman also said she found pornography on a lab computer she shared with the professor.

The report didn't name the professor, who retired in August 2017. The professor declined to participate in an interview as part of the investigation by an Anchorage attorney hired by UAA to conduct the investigation, which began in December 2017.

The report noted that the professor's conduct violated university regulations and created a hostile environment.

"As a result, what should have been a safe environment for the female staff and students, became a place where they had to protect themselves from discrimination and potential harassment and/or assault," it states.

The university will not turn the report over to authorities, said UAA spokeswoman Kirstin Olmstead. She said the "best practice" is to leave it up to complainants whether to pursue criminal sanctions unless they are minors or there is a security threat.

Sanctions can include temporary or permanent bans from university property and activities, Olmstead said in an email to The Associated Press.

"But that does not preclude other sanctions that would be appropriate and available under the circumstances," she added.

UAA officials declined to provide a copy of the report to the AP.

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This story has been corrected to remove a reference to the report being dated in 2015, it was dated 2019.

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Information from: KTVA-TV, http://www.ktva.com

News from © The Associated Press, 2019
The Associated Press

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