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Preliminary Hearing Scheduled in OU Prof Lawsuit, OU Asks For Dismissal
By: Susan Tebben
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ATHENS (WOUB) — A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in a lawsuit against an Ohio University professor, just as the university asks to be dismissed from the suit.
In response to a lawsuit filed by a graduate student against Dr. Yusuf Kalyango and the university, an attorney representing the university is calling for the court to dismiss claims of Title IX violations and “deliberate indifference” to sexual harassment claims made by the student, Tess Herman.
In the court documents, attorney Christopher Hogan stated the university “does not seek to diminish the fact that a University investigator found it more likely than not that Dr. Kalyango subjected Ms. Herman to behaviors that violated University policy,” but it denies having violated any of Herman’s rights.
“In fact…the University promptly conducted a thorough investigation and has moved to de-tenure and dismiss Dr. Kalyango from employment at the University,” Hogan wrote in the filing.
The university called into question allegations that the university didn’t do enough to respond to harassment allegations, including Herman’s claims that “misconduct” by Kalyango was “common knowledge” within the School of Journalism and the Institute for International Journalism, which Kalyango formerly directed.
“Seeming to concede that the University responded appropriately to her report of harassment at the hands of Dr. Kalyango, (Herman) seeks to paper over this chasm with vague allegations about others,” the documents stated.
Kalyango has denied all allegations made against him, in the university investigation and in the lawsuit, even filing a cross-claim that alleges university discrimination and investigation failures.
The preliminary hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for May 17 in United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division.