Harvard professor accused of misconduct to retire
Jorge Dominguez, the celebrated Harvard government professor who has been accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by more than a dozen students, professors, and staff going back over three decades, will retire at the end of the semester.
Dominguez, 72, decided to push up the date of his planned retirement three days after he was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, according to the university.
The chairwoman of Harvard’s government department said that his retirement “does not change the active review of the facts and circumstances that have recently come to light.’’
The allegations, which were detailed in a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education last week, have rocked the university’s government department, where Dominguez was a well-regarded Cuba expert, taught, held leadership positions, and even conducted much of a one-day training for graduate students who were about to start teaching.
Students said Dominguez had a reputation for mentoring scores of students, but whispers of concern also followed him. Female graduate and undergraduate students were warned to keep the door open when meeting with him in his office, students said.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education article, several women said Dominguez touched them inappropriately, from grabbing their knees to pressing his crotch into them or touching their buttocks when he hugged them. In the 1980s, a junior faculty member and a graduate student formally complained about Dominguez’s behavior, including in one instance his attempts to kiss her.
Harvard disciplined Dominguez in 1983, including a temporary suspension of his administrative duties, according to the Chronicle.
Dominguez, though, went on to become vice provost for international affairs at Harvard.
Complaints of his inappropriate behavior continued, too. According to the Chronicle, more than 18 graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, and staff members so far have come forward with allegations against Dominguez from between 1979 and 2015. Among them are three staff members who said they brought their concerns to the university’s human resources department but did not file a formal complaint for fear of alienating Dominguez, who was then a high-powered administrator, according to the Chronicle.
On Sunday night, after the Chronicle informed Harvard about the additional women alleging misconduct, the university put Dominguez on administrative leave.
On Wednesday, in a statement announcing his retirement, Dominguez said he is not teaching this semester and has stepped down immediately from his administrative roles. He did not address the misconduct allegations and through his attorney declined to comment.
Harvard officials said they could revoke any of Dominguez’s retirement benefits and privileges, depending on the findings of the investigation.
Elena Sokoloski, 20, a senior at Harvard who started a #dominguezmustgo social media campaign, said Dominguez’s retirement from the university is a good first step.
But still unanswered is how he retained his post for so long, despite the red flags raised about Dominguez’s alleged behavior over the decades.
“There are a number of places that this fell through the cracks,’’ Sokoloski said. “Everybody is pretty horrified about how long this has been going on.’’
