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UC Berkeley Astronomer Accused Of Sexually Harassing Students Resigns

UC Berkeley Astronomer Accused Of Sexually Harassing Students Resigns

By Larry Gordon and Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

A well-known University of California, Berkeley, astronomer facing sexual harassment allegations from multiple students has stepped down after a furor about whether the university had treated him too leniently.

The university has faced growing criticism in recent days over its handling of an investigation of professor Geoffrey Marcy. The investigation, sparked by a series of complaints, found that he had sexually harassed women students over a nine-year period.

In a statement Wednesday, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks and Provost Claude Steele confirmed Marcy’s resignation and said: “We believe this outcome is entirely appropriate and have immediately accepted his resignation.”

They described Marcy’s conduct, as determined by the investigation, as “contemptible and inexcusable.”

However the two top campus leaders said they did not have the authority to fire Marcy without a lengthy and uncertain process. They noted that the standards of evidence in such cases are very high and they would be subject to a three-year statute of limitations, which could have excluded some of the older allegations against Marcy.

After the results of an initial probe, the school had imposed strict guidelines on Marcy’s behavior and warned him of suspension or dismissal if he violated them.

“Our objective was to protect our students by immediately preventing any reoccurrence of the behavior described in the investigative report. We thus chose to establish, in writing, a strict set of behavioral standards that went beyond what is specifically proscribed by the University’s rules and regulations,” Dirks and Steele wrote.

They said they would work “to reform the University’s disciplinary processes, criteria and standards so that in the future we have different and better options for discipline of faculty.”

In a statement released earlier this week, the university said that, following the investigation, Marcy had agreed to meet certain expectations in his interactions with students and that a failure to do so could result in his suspension or dismissal.

“The university has imposed real consequences on Professor Geoff Marcy by establishing a zero tolerance policy regarding future behavior and by stripping him of the procedural protections that all other faculty members enjoy,” the statement said.

Marcy issued an online apology for his behavior in an open letter last week. Efforts to reach him Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Details about the investigation and complaints were first reported by BuzzFeed on Friday.

The university faced sharp criticism for what many say was an unsatisfactory decision considering the findings. In a letter, Marcy’s colleagues in the astronomy department called on the university to remove him from his position.

“We urge the UC Berkeley administration to re-evaluate its response to Marcy, who has been found in violation of UC sexual harassment policy,” the letter reads. “We believe that Geoff Marcy cannot perform the functions of a faculty member.”

Photo: Geoff Marcy, an astronomer at UC Berkeley, stepped down after students protested that the university let him off too easily on charges of sexual harassment. Rafael Perrino/Flickr

Bill Maher Will Keep His Speaking Date At UC Berkeley Despite Furor

Bill Maher Will Keep His Speaking Date At UC Berkeley Despite Furor

By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times

After a weeklong debate over free speech and campus climate, political satirist Bill Maher said he intends to deliver a December commencement address at the University of California, Berkeley despite a controversy surrounding his invitation.

“I want to come, I’m planning to come,” the comedian said Friday night on his “Real Time with Bill Maher” cable show.

Some students last week sought to have his invitation rescinded because of his on-air remarks last month that they allege denigrated Muslims. But citing free speech rights, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks insisted the speech go on as planned.

Maher kept quiet publicly about the situation for a few days. Then, on Friday’s show, he delivered a lengthy riff about it, explaining that he was delighted to accept the invitation to speak at the midyear commencement Dec. 20. “I’m happy to because although I never attended Berkeley, I was very aware of their place in the American debate on the far left,” he said.

“They invited me because it was the 50th anniversary of something that is legendary on that campus, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement,” he said, referring to influential student protests against rules that limited on-campus activism. “I guess they don’t teach irony in college anymore.”

A campus student organization that helps choose commencement speakers voted to rescind Maher’s invitation. Its leaders said it took that position not because of Maher’s views but because the debate about his presence would have harmed the celebratory nature of the graduation event.

Dirks then overruled the student group and said the invitation will stand. His statement noted that the decision “does not constitute an endorsement” of any of Maher’s views, although it supports the television personality’s right to express them.

“More broadly, this university has not in the past and will not in the future shy away from hosting speakers who some deem provocative,” Dirks’ statement said.

Protesters wanted Maher disinvited because of statements he made on his Oct. 6 show that they contend portrayed Islam as a violent faith and suggested that most Muslims believe that anyone who leaves the religion should be executed.

The Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian Coalition on campus and other groups started an online petition drive seeking to block the speech, calling Maher’s comments racist, divisive and offensive to many students. UC Berkeley should not “invite an individual who himself perpetuates a dangerous learning environment,” the petition said in part.

On Friday’s show, Maher insisted that he is not a bigot. He said that students and others who signed the online petition don’t seem to understand the open nature of universities and a democratic society: “That’s how it’s done, kids. Whoever told you you only had to hear what didn’t upset you?”

His only regret, he said, was that he feared the speech might prompt a media blitz that could detract from the graduation festivities.

Photo via WikiCommons

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