Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
Faculty and Students

U.S. Tells Harvard It Could Be Liable for Retaliation by Professors

By Nell Gluckman September 7, 2022
The Tozzer Anthropology Building, at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Tozzer Anthropology Building at HarvardJon Bilous, Alamy

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday that Harvard University could be held responsible for retaliation carried out by its professors.

The government filed a brief in a case in which three graduate students sued Harvard, alleging that the university failed to protect them from sexual harassment and threats of retaliation.

The three students, all members of Harvard’s anthropology department, had accused the university in federal court of “deliberate indifference to the retaliatory acts of its employees,” including an anthropology professor, John Comaroff. The students said Harvard allowed the professor to ruin their careers and alleged that the university’s investigation into claims of misconduct against Comaroff was insufficient.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday that Harvard University could be held responsible for retaliation carried out by its professors.

The government filed a brief in a case in which three graduate students sued Harvard, alleging that the university had failed to protect them from sexual harassment and threats of retaliation.

The three students, all members of Harvard’s anthropology department, had accused the university in federal court of “deliberate indifference to the retaliatory acts of its employees,” including an anthropology professor, John L. Comaroff. The students alleged that Harvard’s actions had violated Title IX and that the university’s investigation into claims of misconduct by Comaroff had been insufficient. They wrote in their complaint that “Harvard denied that Professor Comaroff engaged in repeated sexual harassment or retaliation.”

Comaroff returned to the classroom this week, teaching his first class since the 2020 investigation, according to The Harvard Crimson.

Harvard said in its response to the students’ complaint that officials had conducted a deep and rigorous investigation into allegations about Comaroff. Earlier this year the university placed the professor on one semester of unpaid leave following a finding that he violated the college’s sexual-harassment and professional-conduct policies.

The college argued that the students’ retaliation claims should be dismissed because the students “do not allege that Harvard retaliated against them, but rather seek to hold Harvard strictly liable for the purported retaliation of Comaroff and others,” according to a court filing. Even if Harvard was liable for the alleged retaliation of its professors, the college wrote, the conduct described by the students was not retaliation under Title IX.

But the Justice Department wrote in its Wednesday filing that Harvard’s argument ignores the fact that retaliation is typically carried out by employees. In other words, the retaliatory conduct of an institution’s employees can be the basis of a retaliation claim against the institution, the department wrote.

“Under Title IX, students have the right to report sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, to their schools without fear of reprisal,” the filing said. “For that to happen, schools must protect students who participate in the Title IX process from retaliation and respond effectively to known retaliatory acts of their employees.”

A Harvard spokesperson did not respond to The Chronicle’s request for comment on Wednesday. Comaroff’s lawyers declined to comment, noting that the professor is not a party in the lawsuit. A lawyer representing the three students — Margaret Czerwienski, Lilia Kilburn, and Amulya Mandava — said they are “glad to see the government affirm that Harvard cannot skirt responsibility for the retaliatory actions of its faculty.”

If “your employees retaliate and you know about it and you don’t do anything about it, then you might be on the hook for retaliation.”

Erin E. Butcher, a higher-education lawyer at the law firm of Bricker and Eckler, noted that the Justice Department’s brief is narrow.

“They don’t really get into the merits of the Harvard case on either side,” she said. What the department is saying, Butcher said, is that if “your employees retaliate and you know about it and you don’t do anything about it, then you might be on the hook for retaliation.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Harvard investigated Comaroff in 2020 for allegations of sexual harassment and threats of retaliation, all of which the professor denied. The Chronicle wrote in 2020 about many of the students’ allegations. Earlier this year, a group of Harvard faculty members signed a letter supporting their colleague and criticizing Harvard’s investigation of him. The following week, the students sued Harvard. A day after the filing of the lawsuit, almost all of the professors withdrew their signatures from the letter.

Comaroff’s return to the classroom on Tuesday drew protests. During his first class, five graduate students walked out, the Crimson said, while dozens of other students held a demonstration outside. Comaroff’s lawyer told the newspaper that her client respects students’ right to protest, but that “the protesters’ goals are incompatible with the values of fairness and due process.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Law & Policy Graduate Education
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Gluckman_Nell.jpg
About the Author
Nell Gluckman
Nell Gluckman is a senior reporter who writes about research, ethics, funding issues, affirmative action, and other higher-education topics. You can follow her on Twitter @nellgluckman, or email her at nell.gluckman@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
The Death of Shared Governance
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption
WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists

From The Review

Illustration of an ocean tide shaped like Donald Trump about to wash away sandcastles shaped like a college campus.
The Review | Essay
Why Universities Are So Powerless in Their Fight Against Trump
By Jason Owen-Smith
Photo-based illustration of a closeup of a pencil meshed with a circuit bosrd
The Review | Essay
How Are Students Really Using AI?
By Derek O'Connell
John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin