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Princeton University’s governing board voted to dismiss him on Monday Joshua Katz, a full professor in the Department of Classical Works, for failing to cooperate fully in the investigation of sexual misconduct, which his supporters say is revenge for his views.
Katz caused controversy for a 2020 essay that opposes proposals by professors to combat racism at the university following the assassination of George Floyd. The reaction to his song raised him to star status among some the conservatives, who saw the reaction as an attack on free speech. The 52-year-old Katz’s accusations that he had an improper relationship with a student, which led to a university investigation that has now led to his dismissal, have resurfaced amid attention.
President of Princeton recommends dismissal of professor of sexual misconduct investigation
The board sided with President Princeton Christopher L. Eisgruber and the dean of the faculty, Jean A. Jarrett, who both recommended that Katz be fired for withholding information in investigation from 2018 in his relationship with a bachelor’s degree student a decade earlier.
Katz did not respond immediately to requests for comment on Monday. His lawyer, Samantha Harris, declined to say whether Katz would take legal action, but said she kept all her options open.
“Princeton will say this has nothing to do with his political speech and this is a completely new investigation,” Harris said. “But I don’t think there’s anyone who sincerely doubts that if Professor Katz hadn’t published his article in 2020, he would have been hired by Princeton.
Katz previously admitted that he had sexual intercourse with a student who did not participate in the original investigation from 2018. He was removed without pay for one year for violating school policies prohibiting sexual relations between teachers and students, and was sentenced to three years probation.
The relationship attracted new attention in February 2021, after the student newspaper Daily Princetonian wrote about it as part of a long investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Katz. Later that month, the former student filed a complaint with the university, sparking a new investigation.
According to Princeton, the former student provided new information unknown to the university in 2018. Investigators say Katz dissuaded her from participating and cooperating in the initial investigation after she told him she would. They also claim that Katz dissuaded the student from seeking advice through university health services to prevent the university from learning about his behavior.
“These actions were not only gross violations of the university’s policy, but also completely incompatible with his duties as a faculty member,” Princeton said in a statement Monday.
Harris, Katz’s lawyer, said the university’s actions could have a chilling effect on freedom of speech on college campuses.
“The message to other people who may want to talk is the price of turning your personal life in search of information that will destroy you,” Harris said. This is “someone who used to be an award-winning, highly respected professor, but from the moment he published this article onwards, he became a ruthless target until he was fired.”
Jarrett, the dean of the faculty, dismissed Katz’s views as a catalyst for the investigation in a November investigation report, saying “the university’s current political climate, whether perceived or real, is not appropriate.” ”
Katz caused tensions on campus after a group of faculty, students and graduates signed an open letter in July 2020 asking Princeton to redeem the legacy of racism on campus by tackling hiring and accepting biases. Katz wrote an essay days later, saying the letter was a disgrace to the teachers who signed it, and claimed that their demands “would lead to a civil war on campus.”
He also criticized the now-defunct student group, the Black Justice League, which advocates the abolition of The name of former President Woodrow Wilson from a campus building. Katz called the group a “small local terrorist organization.”
Eisgruber criticized Katz’s characterization of the student organization as “irresponsible and offensive,” but argued that the professor’s views “could be answered, but not censored or sanctioned.”
On Saturday, Eisgruber reiterated his commitment to free speech in front of an audience of graduates at an event on the Princeton campus. While Eisgruber declined to discuss Katz’s case, he stressed that Princeton teachers must treat students appropriately and be honest.
“We take these rules very seriously here and we believe that a member of the faculty is bound by these obligations, no matter how distinctive they may be and no matter what their political views may be,” Eisgruber said. “Political views are not a reason to investigate someone. They are also not protection to investigate someone. “
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