Northeastern University settled a sexual-harassment suit early this month for an undisclosed amount after two female former students told a federal jury that college officials had ignored their complaints about a professor’s unwanted sexual advances. The settlement kept the professor, who had said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, from having to take the stand.
Northeastern offered to settle with Kimberly Northrup, a former graduate student, who sued the institution in 1998. Ms. Northrup, who was a student of Morris Freilich, an anthropology professor, in 1995 in a course called “Culture and Mental Illness,” charged that the university had failed to protect her and other students from the advances of Mr. Freilich, who she said had a reputation for harassing women in his classes.
The settlement terms prevent Northeastern from discussing the case, and Ms. Northrup’s lawyer did not respond to telephone messages. But according to news organizations in Boston, she testified that Mr. Freilich had given her an unsolicited -- and unwelcome -- kiss on the face during an October 30, 1995, dinner in which he called her “sexually attractive.” She said she reported the incident the next day to her academic adviser, who said she, too, had been harassed by Mr. Freilich. During a subsequent meeting in the university’s affirmative-action office, Ms. Northrup said, university officials told her that the professor had “done this many times before” and had at least three sexual-harassment complaints in his file.
Mr. Freilich’s supervisor, Anthony Jones, was assigned to mediate a settlement between the professor and Ms. Northrup. In the pact, he agreed to cease professional activities for nine months, but she said she felt deceived when he continued to work out of his university office -- across the hall from her office.
When Northeastern told her that the settlement did not prevent the professor from using his office, she left the university before completing her graduate studies.
The other former student involved in the case testified under subpoena last week that Mr. Freilich had touched her breasts and had later kissed her in his office. She complained to the affirmative-action office and said she was assured that the professor would be put on a leave of absence. But she found that in any event, he continued to frequent the campus.
Edward Klotzbier, a spokesman for Northeastern, citing the confidential settlement, said only, “We’re just pleased that the matter has been resolved to both parties’ satisfaction.”
http://chronicle.com Section: The Faculty Page: A27
