Montana State Geneticist Resigns After Harassment Allegations

An internal report finds Hikmet Budak touched students inappropriately and discriminated against them based on their country of origin, sex, marriage status, and other factors.

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ABOVE: MSU, ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ

Montana State University cereal geneticist Hikmet Budak has resigned after an investigation found evidence that he had sexually harassed students and discriminated against them. The work environment was so intimidating that several students left his lab and one considered suicide, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports.

The university’s Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) conducted the investigation and found a “preponderance of the evidence” that Budak created “a hostile environment that was rampant with harassment,” Emily Stark, the director of the OIE, tells the Chronicle. According to the OIE’s report, which was anonymously sent to the Chronicle, Budak often touched female students, making them feel uncomfortable. The report also found that he often hired young female students over male students, joked about shooting his students, called students fat in Turkish, yelled at female but not male students, and fired a female staff member because of her family status.

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Meet the Author

  • Ashley Yeager

    Ashley started at The Scientist in 2018. Before joining the staff, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, a writer at the Simons Foundation, and a web producer at Science News, among other positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Ashley edits the Scientist to Watch and Profile sections of the magazine and writes news, features, and other stories for both online and print.

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