University of Rochester Faces Lawsuit for Mishandling Sexual Harassment Case

The nine plaintiffs allege the university’s actions put women at risk.

Written byShawna Williams
| 2 min read

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Update (October 3, 2019): The Rochester Democrat Chronicle reports that a legal filing by the University of Rochester's lawyers included the names of women who anonymously accused Florian Jaeger of sexual harassment and misconduct. The university apologized for its “error.”

A former graduate student and eight current or former faculty members filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 8) against the University of Rochester for its handling of allegations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior by cognitive sciences professor Florian Jaeger.

Jaeger’s alleged behavior first became public this September, when the plaintiffs in the current lawsuit filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating that he had sexual relationships with multiple students, demeaned female students, and had taken credit for others’ work. According ...

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  • Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.

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