HANOVER — Dartmouth College President Phil Hanlon had detailed knowledge of allegations of sexual misconduct against a University of Michigan professor he recommended for a promotion during his time as provost there, but he discounted the allegations as “rumor” and “speculation,” according to an independent investigation into the professor released late last month.
The professor, Martin Philbert, later became the provost at the University of Michigan, a post he held until he was placed on administrative leave in January due to an investigation into his misconduct. The university then stripped him of his administrative post in March and banned him from campus, according to a news release from the university. Philbert retired from his faculty position in June.
Hanlon, who held the role of provost at Michigan from 2010 until he came to Dartmouth in 2013, recommended Philbert, a professor of toxicology, to be dean of Michigan’s School of Public Health in 2010. At the time, Hanlon was aware of allegations against Philbert, according to a report issued by WilmerHale law firm July 31. The July report found that Philbert sexually harassed multiple members of the university community, including graduate students who worked in his lab, and university employees over the course of two decades.
Though Hanlon took steps to evaluate the claims, including having a vice provost speak with women in the school of public health, the report faults him for failing to go further.
“But, to the extent Hanlon believed that a closer look at allegations against Philbert was warranted — particularly in order for him to reach a judgment as to whether Philbert was fit to serve as Dean of SPH — he should have turned to trained investigators in (Office of Institutional Equity) to pursue that inquiry,” the report said.
Dartmouth spokeswoman Diana Lawrence said in a Saturday email that the report shows that Hanlon, as Michigan’s provost in 2010, “conducted extensive background and reference checking regarding earlier allegations of misconduct” against Philbert. Lawrence said Michigan’s OIE considered the allegations against Philbert in 2004 and determined that there was no need for the office to investigate further.
She also pointed out that Hanlon “provided extensive support to the UM investigation, and the recommendations underscore the importance of ensuring institutional policies and practices are fair, rigorous and respect the due process of all parties involved.”
She noted that Hanlon has launched “a comprehensive program at Dartmouth to eliminate sexual misconduct from campus including a new unified policy on sexual misconduct.” The policy came after allegations of professors’ sexual misconduct spurred community members to question whether the college had created a permissive atmosphere for abuse and assault.
Dartmouth recently received a judge’s approval for the $14 million settlement in a lawsuit over the college’s handling of sexual misconduct in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
The school also recently began an external investigation into graduate student Maha Hasan Alshawi’s allegations of sexual misconduct in its computer science department, which Alshawi had said was the basis of a 24-day hunger strike.
At least one member of the Dartmouth community has expressed concerns about Hanlon’s role in promoting Philbert in Michigan. Jennifer Ditano, a Dartmouth graduate student and member of the Dartmouth Community Against Gender Harassment & Sexual Violence, said WilmerHale’s report left her feeling “despair and exhaustion.”
“While I am disgusted, I am not surprised in the slightest to learn that a member of the Dartmouth administration has a history of dismissing allegations and (whether through intent or ignorance) enabling a serial abuser,” Ditano wrote in a Saturday email. “The process by which Hanlon handled the allegations against Philbert is perfectly in line with the lack of transparency and tendency to dismiss or minimize allegations that we continue to experience here at Dartmouth. This administration, led by this President, is not one we can trust to support current survivors and prevent future harassment, let alone effect meaningful change in the culture at Dartmouth.”
According to the July report, Hanlon outlined the allegations against Philbert in a 2010 email to then-University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman. They included allegations dating back to 2005 that Philbert had made inappropriate advances and engaged in inappropriate relationships with female students. Hanlon also noted that the university had settled a lawsuit with a former male staff member who alleged that Philbert had an affair with a female member of his lab.
But Hanlon, as well as members of the search committee for the dean position, discounted these allegations as “rumor” and “speculation.”
“The search committee was aware of these allegations and the investigation but felt that was in the past and that Martin had learned his lesson,” Hanlon wrote at the time.
When WilmerHale interviewed Coleman for the July report, she said she didn’t remember Hanlon’s email or any discussion of the allegations.
“She also acknowledged that she — and perhaps others who may have received this information regarding Philbert — likely would not have given it the same weight in 2010 as she would today,” according to the report.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
