An Ohio University professor who sexually harassed a student employee has been recommended for detenuring by an ethics committee, while the State Department investigates financial expenditures connected to him.
Susan Tebben of member station WOUB in Athens reports.
Claims that Dr. Yusuf Kalyango sexually harassed and created a hostile work environment for a student employee of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and the Study of the United States Institute (SUSI) were found to be substantiated in August by OU’s Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance.
The Young African Leaders Initiative and the Study of the United States Institute are both administered by the International Institute of Journalism, which is headed by Kalyango.
After receiving that report, a University Professional Ethics Committee report stated key issues in the case, such as a "recurring discrepancy between the documented evidence and the answers given by (Kalyango)" and a "lack of acknowledgement of the power dynamic inherent in his position of authority."
As the ethics committee made its decision, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs conducted a "site visit" at the university "as a result of the recent happenings concerning...Yusuf Kalyongo," according to emails provided to WOUB as part of a public records request.
A request for comment was sent to Kalyango's attorney. Kalyango's fall classes have been reassigned, according to the university.
