Esteemed Columbia professor accused of sexually harassing student
An elderly professor who’s been teaching at Columbia University for more than 50 years preyed on a female doctoral student and sexually harassed her for two years, a new lawsuit alleges.
The now 29-year-old woman claims the harassment began when she was a graduate student in 2014, when William V. Harris, a celebrated history professor and longtime program director at the school, duped her into believing he was a trusted confidant, according to the Manhattan federal court complaint filed Monday.
After inviting the woman to work for him, the then 75-year-old educator began coming onto her — inappropriately groping and kissing her in his office while pressuring her to have sex with him, the suit alleged.
He also asked that she send him “sexually explicit emails.”
Harris, who specializes in ancient Greek and Roman history, allegedly told the woman that she was being “too emotional” when she complained about his unwanted passes.
Things turned sour after the anonymous woman withdrew from her work with Harris, as well as from Columbia, during the 2015-16 school year to seek counseling for her extreme “psychological distress.”
That’s when the geriatric professor began badmouthing her to other staffers and students, saying she dropped out without due cause.
The woman, who still teaches at the Ivy League school, said Columbia was well aware of Harris’ predatory behavior, which has been going on for “decades,” but that the school turned a “blind eye” to it.
She also claimed Harris targeted many other female students.
“When students have reported sexual harassment to Columbia’s administrators, officers, and employees …Columbia has shown deliberate indifference to their complaints,” the suit said.
In an email, Harris said he had no comment on the allegations.
“We treat any claim of harassment or other gender-based misconduct in our community with the utmost seriousness, but we do not comment in the press on allegations made in legal complaints,” Columbia said in a statement.
“Columbia pays lip service to the ideals of a safe campus,” said David Sanford, one of the woman’s lawyers. “However, the institution has demonstrated deliberate indifference to complaints of sexual harassment. Jane Doe is now among the women harmed by Columbia University trustees’ callous disregard for students’ safety, psychological health, and emotional well being.”