After Investigation of Sexual Misconduct, a Dartmouth Professor Will Retire

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A Dartmouth College dean has recommended the dismissal of a tenured professor of psychology, Todd F. Heatherton, and the revocation of his tenured appointment after an external investigator looked into allegations of sexual misconduct by him, according to a campus email from Philip J. Hanlon, Dartmouth’s president.

But Heatherton, who holds an endowed chair and is director of the college’s Center for Social Brain Sciences, will retire, effective immediately.

Last fall the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said it was investigating “allegations of serious misconduct” made against three Dartmouth professors. It later specified that the inquiry concerned alleged “sexual misconduct.” The attorney general’s office said on Thursday that its investigation was still in progress.

The three — Paul J. Whalen, William M. Kelley, and Heatherton — were put on paid leave during the investigation. But the college, which said it was conducting its own investigation, did not immediately say why the professors had suddenly been placed on leave.

After reviewing an external investigator’s findings, Elizabeth F. Smith, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, also banned Heatherton from campus and off-campus events sponsored by Dartmouth. The college has not made a severance payment to Heatherton, according to the president’s email.

Smith’s as-yet-undisclosed recommendations for Kelley and Whalen are being reviewed by the college’s Council on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, a faculty-elected group that advises administrators, including the president. The council will issue a report making recommendations to the Board of Trustees, and the board will decide on the professors’ cases.

As the council reviews the investigation, Kelley and Whalen remain on paid leave, and their access to the campus is restricted, Hanlon said.

Whalen and Kelley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement issued through his lawyer, Heatherton apologized for his actions.

“I acknowledge that I acted unprofessionally in public at conferences while intoxicated,” the statement says. “I offer a humble and sincere apology to anyone affected by my actions.”

Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz is breaking-news editor. Follow her on Twitter @FernandaZamudio, or email her at fzamudiosuarez@chronicle.com.