Rec letter from someone with sexual harassment history?

[scimusicgirl]

I was planning to ask a professor for a rec letter for next MD app cycle, but I recently found out he has 8 sexual harassment lawsuits against him from the 90s. He is a tenured professor who has held high ranking NSF/NIH/HHMI positions. Our relationship has been nothing out of the ordinary for a student-professor relationship. I'm just wondering if maybe an adcom might disregard a letter from him, or worse, if he could end up sexually harassing me if I ask for a letter. But he knows my work ethic better than most of my other natural sciences professors do. Thoughts?

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[DNAJB6]

I would have no problem asking him to speak to your scientific and intellectual prowess even if he is a toad ... Just don't ask for a character reference.

 

[caterwaiter]

If you're genuinely worried about your professor sexually harassing you, you have a bigger issue on your hands than a rec letter.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

If you google him, do the lawsuits come up? if so, 100% no

Even if not, I still advise no. that many lawsuits is a huge red flag, and academia is a small world.

 

[es123]

I absolutely would not. YOU can do better. If 8 sexual harassment suits doesn’t scream “don’t trust me”, I don’t know what would. If I were an adcom and somehow found out a student had a recommendation from this sort of person, I’d seriously question their integrity and self-awareness.

Clearly you are self-aware to some extent as you’re concerned enough to even ask this question. Don’t do it. You are good enough to get an incredible recommendation from someone who isn’t an repeat sexual harasser.

 

[smhmd]

Sounds like an awful idea to get a letter of rec from him.

 

[DNAJB6]

Anyone who pays the filing fee (or qualifies for a court ordered waiver) and postage can file a lawsuit against you. The fact that a lawsuit is filed against you means nothing. Would those here take the position that every medical malpractice lawsuit is meritorious? If you can find the lawsuits then you should be able to find out the disposition. If he lost all of those suits or many of them the university would have already sent him packing no?

 

[OfMiceAndWomen]

Anyone who pays the filing fee (or qualifies for a court ordered waiver) and postage can file a lawsuit against you. The fact that a lawsuit is filed against you means nothing. Would those here take the position that every medical malpractice lawsuit is meritorious? If you can find the lawsuits then you should be able to find out the disposition. If he lost all of those suits or many of them the university would have already sent him packing no?

You can't compare sexual harassment lawsuits to medical malpractice lawsuits. Mistakes in medical practice can happen, especially if physicians are performing a lot of procedures or making medical decisions everyday. The possibility of making a mistake in medical practice will always be non-zero. That is why malpractice insurance exists.

On the other hand, the possibility of sexual harassment *should* be zero. Sexual harassment doesn't just happen accidentally. So yes, EIGHT sexual harassment lawsuits are a lot. One is more than enough to be a red flag.

If he lost all of those suits or many of them the university would have already sent him packing no?

If you haven't realized the extent to which powerful institutions will protect and cover for people who have committed sexual harassment, you've been living under a rock.


Regardless, the biggest red flag here is that OP felt the need to express this worry "worse, if he could end up sexually harassing me if I ask for a letter." A student/mentee should never EVER feel like this might be a possibility.

 

[DNAJB6]

You can't compare sexual harassment lawsuits to medical malpractice lawsuits. Mistakes in medical practice can happen, especially if physicians are performing a lot of procedures or making medical decisions everyday. The possibility of making a mistake in medical practice will always be non-zero. That is why malpractice insurance exists.

The comparison was only meant to suggest that not every suit has merit. Always take a plaintiff's allegations with a grain of salt regardless of the subject matter.

On the other hand, the possibility of sexual harassment *should* be zero. Sexual harassment doesn't just happen accidentally. So yes, EIGHT sexual harassment lawsuits are a lot. One is more than enough to be a red flag.

Unfortunately the risk of something bad happening to someone is never zero percent.
I don't disagree that eight lawsuits is concerning, but it should take more than mere filing to trash someone's reputation to the point that letters of recommendation are discounted. We're talking about a letter regarding her research/scientific prowess not a character reference. I'm not suggesting she hang out with him or be alone with him.

If you haven't realized the extent to which powerful institutions will protect and cover for people who have committed sexual harassment, you've been living under a rock.

It is harder to cover up lawsuits (and even if cases are settled the court's docket sheet can provide clues as to whether there was a dismissal on the merits or whether a settlement was reached). Judgments also add up. There are limits to what schools will tolerate.

Regardless, the biggest red flag here is that OP felt the need to express this worry "worse, if he could end up sexually harassing me if I ask for a letter." A student/mentee should never EVER feel like this might be a possibility.

Agreed, but was this because of the lawsuits or was this for some other reason? Regardless, I'd recommend caution.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

We're talking about a letter regarding her research/scientific prowess not a character reference.

Have you ever read or written a recommendation letter? Most do address character, in addition to research/scientific prowess.

If there is even a small chance of the letter writer's reputation is known to the reader (as I said before, academia is a very very small world) and could taint their view of you, is it really worth it?

 

[keolu hills]

I was planning to ask a professor for a rec letter for next MD app cycle, but I recently found out he has 8 sexual harassment lawsuits against him from the 90s. He is a tenured professor who has held high ranking NSF/NIH/HHMI positions. Our relationship has been nothing out of the ordinary for a student-professor relationship. I'm just wondering if maybe an adcom might disregard a letter from him, or worse, if he could end up sexually harassing me if I ask for a letter. But he knows my work ethic better than most of my other natural sciences professors do. Thoughts?

I would not trust him to get a letter of recommendation. He is probably very unstable. Several decades ago, I volunteered in a research lab. One of the female researchers was being harassed by the P.I of the lab. I witnessed it on many occasions and was shown emails that the PI had written to her. It was clearly sexual harassment. He created such a toxic environment that we all left. I definitely did not trust him to ask him for a letter of recommendation to a grad program or medical school. The researchers certainly did not trust him either.

I certainly would find someone else with moral character.

 

[Ultimax]

It seems you are concerned for your own safety as well as you are uncomfortable with your professor’s background. I would say trust your instinct, the letter may not worth it.

 

[DNAJB6]

Have you ever read or written a recommendation letter? Most do address character, in addition to research/scientific prowess.

If there is even a small chance of the letter writer's reputation is known to the reader (as I said before, academia is a very very small world) and could taint their view of you, is it really worth it?

If all of her other writers are fine and write a positive character note, they will disregard his comments about character but the other portions would still have value. I meant that she is not relying on him primarily as a character reference as she can have others to attest to that. In any event, this argument is moot. @gonnif and @Goro have spoken and as adcoms (or someone with years of experience with adcoms) those posts should control.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

If all of her other writers are fine and write a positive character note, they will disregard his comments about character but the other portions would still have value. I meant that she is not relying on him primarily as a character reference as she can have others to attest to that. In any event, this argument is moot. @gonnif and @Goro have spoken and as adcoms (or someone with years of experience with adcoms) those posts should control.

I'm not an adcom, but I've been on the receiving end of employment applications/letters of rec before. The reader isn't going to pick and choose which parts of the letter they disregard. If I were to receive a letter, signed by someone I knew to have a reputation for/history of sexual harassment, it would definitely shift my view of the entire letter, and possibly applicant. I would try not to hold it against the applicant, especially if they have other great letters, but it would certainly raise some questions - did the applicant know of this persons reputation, and choose to ignore it? What does it say about their ability to judge character, and who they choose to work with? If I accepted them to this job/school, would they be likely to overlook sexual harassment situations in the future? How likely this is to affect my overall view of the applicant would ultimately depend on so many factors (strength of app, how bad the reputation/allegations are, does it seem like something they honestly wouldn't have known about, other letters...), but there's more than a small chance it could hurt

If the applicant already has other good character references as you suggest, then they really don't stand to gain much from using such a letter.

 

[andalusite_angles]

It’s not easy to convict someone for sexual harassment. There wasn’t just one victim who came forward, there were eight. This isn’t just a smelly black kitty with a white stripe down its back, it’s a skunk. Predators will exploit you in any way possible. Asking for a recommendation... so a favor... increases your vulnerability to this person.

Find someone else to write your rec, this isn’t worth the risk.

 

[DNAJB6]

I would try not to hold it against the applicant, especially if they have other great letters, but it would certainly raise some questions - did the applicant know of this persons reputation, and choose to ignore it? What does it say about their ability to judge character, and who they choose to work with? If I accepted them to this job/school, would they be likely to overlook sexual harassment situations in the future?

It is utterly unreasonable to expect everyone to conduct in depth background checks on their recommendation letter writers, and there is always a chance of missing something. In most cases, it would be unlikely that an applicant would know allegations of this nature ahead of time. As such, what is an applicant suppose to do? You can't send out a pre-letter questionnaire asking about Title VII lawsuits, any criminal proceedings, and other unsavory details about their personal lives.

 

[DNAJB6]

It’s not easy to convict someone for sexual harassment. There wasn’t just one victim who came forward, there were eight. This isn’t just a smelly black kitty with a white stripe down its back, it’s a skunk. Predators will exploit you in any way possible. Asking for a recommendation... so a favor... increases your vulnerability to this person.

Find someone else to write your rec, this isn’t worth the risk.

There is no "conviction" as this is a civil matter (in contrast to sexual assault charges).

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

It is utterly unreasonable to expect everyone to conduct in depth background checks on their recommendation letter writers, and there is always a chance of missing something. In most cases, it would be unlikely that an applicant would know allegations of this nature ahead of time. As such, what is an applicant suppose to do? You can't send out a pre-letter questionnaire asking about Title VII lawsuits, any criminal proceedings, and other unsavory details about their personal lives.

And I never said they should. But clearly this applicant learned about this persons reputation somehow (someone with eight sexual harassment lawsuits is nearly guaranteed to have a reputation), no background check needed. This means others almost certainly know too, and they should play it safe by finding someone else to get a letter from. Again, academia can be an incredibly small world.

 

[scimusicgirl]

Thank you all for your insightful responses. I will most definitely find someone else to write the letter. It's not worth the risk. More importantly, it will weigh really heavily on my conscience. There's a female professor who may not know the quality of my work as in depth (biochem prof-- had her last year, multiple choice exams only, vs current sleazy prof w/ small writing course) but at least she knows my enthusiasm. I've never had to worry about my own safety around him, but regardless I will keep my distance. Again, thank you all.