An administrator resigned amid sexual harassment accusations. Another college hired him. A professor was found to have stalked a coworker. She agreed to retire, then won a Fulbright grant. Campus leaders vow reforms, but many say it’s a long road.
Two upcoming events aim to honor survivors of sexual harassment, misconduct and assault and raise awareness about its prevalence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Every college campus has standards and policies to prevent sexual harassment. But time and again, repeated complaints are filed against professors for saying and doing inappropriate things — yet they often keep their jobs. Documents and interviews from two recent cases on campuses in Illinois shed some light on the reasons why this remains a persistent issue at many schools.
Faculty and administrators at the University of Illinois College of Law say Professor Jay Kesan betrayed the law school’s values of creating a respectful and safe community for all. The group is calling on campus administrators to immediately revise policies governing campus investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct.
The University of Illinois Student Bar Association is demanding law professor Jay Kesan resign, after a 2017 investigation made public last week by Illinois Public Media found Kesan violated the campus code of conduct.
