You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Berklee College of Music has since 2008 allowed three professors accused of sexual misconduct to leave quietly, according to an investigation by The Boston Globe. Jeff Galindo, a professor of jazz, groped one of his female undergraduate students upon walking her home after a night of drinking and texted her afterward to apologize, according to the newspaper. Administrators allegedly discouraged the woman from pursuing a court case against the professor, promising that he would never be able teach elsewhere. But Galindo, who did not respond to a request for comment, moved on to other institutions anyway. Greg Osby, another former professor at Berklee who was accused of pressuring a female student into sex, did speak with the Globe, to dispute the claim. “Only an idiot would sleep with students, and I am not an idiot,” Osby said. “I would not do that. But after they graduate, it’s open season.” He said that Berklee didn’t give him a chance to defend himself before he was terminated.
In another case, a freshman alleged that her keyboarding professor, Aruan Ortiz, decided she needed more help with her technique and asked to come to her apartment in 2008. She agreed because she had a friend staying with her, but Ortiz licked and grabbed her when the friend left the room, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston in 2009. Berklee allegedly waited weeks to investigate, and longer to meet with Ortiz, who admitted to trying to kiss the woman, according to the Globe. The legal case was settled in 2010.
A fourth case resulted in a report to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. In the complaint, a 2012 Berklee graduate accused a co-worker in the audio production lab of predatory behavior and retaliatory behavior, leaving condoms in the lab and suggesting sex. Berklee settled the case and it reportedly remains sealed. Berklee defended its track record, saying that it has rigorous harassment policies and procedures and that it acts quickly to remove offenders from the campus.
In a separate case on another campus, Lehigh University placed an unnamed faculty member on leave this week pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, WFMZ-TV reported. “We are writing to inform the Lehigh community that the university has been made aware of allegations of sexual and other inappropriate conduct by a faculty member,” the university said in a statement. “During this time, the faculty member will not be permitted on the Lehigh campus or in its facilities.”
