Dominguez to be Paid on Leave

The University will continue to pay Government professor Jorge I. Dominguez while he is on “administrative leave” for allegedly sexually harassing women in the Government department, according to Anna Cowenhoven, a spokesperson for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith announced in an email Sunday that FAS placed Dominguez on leave “pending a full and fair review of the facts and circumstances.” In his email, Smith cited allegations against Dominguez first reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education in a Feb. 27 article.

In that article, at least 10 women accused Dominguez of sexually harassing them at various points across the last 30 years.

Though Dominguez will retain his tenure, he will not be able to teach or perform other administrative duties while on leave, Cowenhoven wrote in an emailed statement Monday.

Dominguez is currently on sabbatical this semester, though he also serves as chair of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. He is also a senior adviser to the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, where he worked as director from 1995 to 2006.

Other Ivy League schools have seen professors accused of sexual misconduct in recent months—prompting universities to respond in different ways.

After multiple students alleged that three tenured professors at Dartmouth created a “hostile academic environment in which sexual harassment is normalized” in Nov. 2017, the University placed the professors on paid leave, according to The Dartmouth. The professors have restricted access to campus while investigators continue their work, the Dartmouth reported.

Princeton also responded to sexual harassment allegations after a Title IX investigation found that electrical engineering professor Sergio Verdú had violated the University’s policy on sex discrimination and sexual misconduct last June. According to the Daily Princetonian, Verdú will be allowed to keep his job after attending an eight-hour training session.

The last time Harvard publicly placed a professor on leave was in 2011. Psychology professor Marc D. Hauser resigned from his tenured position at the University after an internal FAS investigation found Hauser “solely responsible for eight counts of scientific misconduct.”

—Staff writer Angela N. Fu can be reached at angela.fu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @angelanfu.

—Staff writer Lucy Wang can be reached at lucy.wang@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @lucyyloo22