Ten former students and employees of Northwestern University’s journalism school are publicly accusing a prominent professor of persistent harassment, misconduct and bullying over the past decade.
The group wrote an open letter Wednesday listing numerous complaints against Alec Klein, a professor in the Medill School of Journalism who runs its Justice Project. They assert that Klein engaged in a range of misconduct over the years, including unwanted physical contact, inappropriate banter about their sex lives and, in one case, an invitation to his hotel room.
Klein, in a statement, denied the allegations.
The letter, which the group called “Medill’s #MeToo moment,” was sent to Medill Dean Bradley J. Hamm, university Provost Jonathan Holloway and about 50 faculty members. It was signed by 10 women who worked at the Justice Project, studied at Medill or both since Klein joined the faculty in 2008.
Olivia Pera, who worked at the Justice Project from September 2014 to March 2015, said in an interview Wednesday that Klein repeatedly made sexually explicit comments to her and threatened her job security when she rejected his advances. She also said that he invited her to have drinks inside his hotel room during a business trip and massaged her shoulders during a work-related meeting.
“It was the worst time of my entire life,” said Pera, 33. “I hated going to work. I hated everything about being (there). I regretted leaving my other job so badly. I knew what a horrible mistake I made.”
Other alums reached by the Tribune on Wednesday described an environment in which Klein routinely castigated, manipulated and belittled female students.
“My experience is that Alec absolutely abused his power as a professor and as the director of a prestigious program at Northwestern,” said Alison Flowers, a Medill alum and former Justice Project research associate, who now works at the Invisible Institute on Chicago’s South Side. “I witnessed and I experienced cruelty. His behavior is an open secret at Medill, and it’s got to stop.”
Klein, who responded to a request for an interview with the emailed statement, bristled at the allegations in the letter and said he intended to take legal action, though he did not specify against whom. He said that federal student privacy laws limited what he could say about former students but said many of the allegations involved a “disgruntled former employee.” He did not identify that person or specify the allegations.
“The university determined the complainant was not credible and documented, through records and her own words, several falsehoods in her charges,” Klein wrote. He added, “The university reached out to every person interviewed as part of its investigation to notify them that I had not done anything wrong and the case had been dismissed.”
In a statement, Northwestern said it would review the allegations in the letter. It also said, “The University takes seriously all complaints that are brought to its attention. Many of the allegations were contained in a complaint brought several years ago by a former employee. At that time, the University conducted a thorough investigation and the complaint was not substantiated.”
Pera said she quit the job after six months and complained to Northwestern’s human resources department about Klein, but nothing came of it. Pera then filed a sexual harassment complaint against Northwestern and Klein with the Illinois Department of Human Rights in July 2015, according to records provided to the Tribune. A spokesman for the agency, Michael Theodore, confirmed the filings and said the charges were “withdrawn” in September 2015.
Pera reached a settlement, with Northwestern paying her $8,000, according to records reviewed by the Tribune. As part of that settlement, she agreed not to seek another job with the university, according to the records.
The university denied any wrongdoing in reaching the settlement.
“I went through absolute hell,” Pera said. “My family saw me go through such personality changes. My son saw me crying every day. That’s not something your kid should see. I have nothing but bad memories of Northwestern.”
In addition to saying that Klein had engaged in a pattern of harassment and misconduct, the women also said that Klein had bullied them and fostered a climate of intimidation.
“We’re not just talking about a normal workplace; we’re talking about a university, about an environment of learning,” said Meribah Knight, a 2009 Medill graduate who now works for Nashville Public Radio. “The behavior I experienced from Alec was confidence-crushing. That’s not illegal and that’s not a fireable offense at a lot of places, but this is an environment of learning.”
Other alums interviewed by the Tribune said they did not formally complain about Klein’s behavior at the time because it was difficult to pinpoint any specific rules or policies he violated. Because of that ambiguity, some women said they second-guessed themselves about what they experienced until they learned about fellow classmates who reported similar problems.
Lauryn Schroeder, a 2013 graduate and fellow at the Justice Project, said Klein repeatedly belittled her and yelled at her in front of students, to the point that she would leave work in tears.
“It took a long time to get over it. I’m not over it. It impacted how I see myself,” said Schroeder, now an investigative reporter at the San Diego Union-Tribune. “For a long time I believed him. I believed that I would never have a career in journalism, that I was worthless, that I wasn’t a good writer, that nothing I ever did would be good enough. It wasn’t until I got out of there that I realized just how bad things were there.”
According to records obtained by the Tribune, Northwestern’s human resources department recently reviewed complaints made about Klein’s behavior. It was not clear when that inquiry was launched, but officials with the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access informed complainants this week in an email that the university did not determine the allegations to be substantial enough to launch a formal investigation into Klein.
The office would, however, pursue what it called an “informal action,” according to the email. The university website states that could involve “a warning to cease current behaviors, no-contact directives, and/or an educational conversation with the respondent or others.”
Klein worked for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal before he joined the Medill faculty and took the reins of the Medill Justice Project, then known as the Medill Innocence Project. Klein previously taught at Georgetown and American universities in Washington, D.C.
On Wednesday, Klein made no apologies for being demanding of his students.
“I have high expectations for my students and expect them to do their best because the goal is for them to become better journalists,” he wrote in his statement.
He added that he received nothing but positive reviews from students in their evaluations, which are filled out anonymously.
“Over the years, I have received countless letters and emails from students expressing their gratitude for their experience in my classes, and have also been honored at various faculty appreciation events and received recognition for my teaching at Northwestern,” he wrote.
drhodes@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rhodes_dawn
