Harvard University has reached a settlement with three graduate students who sued the school in 2022, accusing it of mishandling sexual harassment allegations against a professor.
The students — Margaret G. Czerwienski, Lilia M. Kilburn and Amulya Mandava — claimed the university failed to act on reports that John L. Comaroff had sexually harassed Kilburn and retaliated against Czerwienski and Mandava for warning others about his behavior. The allegations were first revealed through an investigation by the Harvard Crimson, the university's student newspaper.
The case moved to mediation in November 2023. In a Wednesday court filing, the parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, ending the legal battle. The conditions of the settlement were not made public.
Comaroff, who worked in the anthropology and African and African American studies departments, was placed on unpaid leave in 2020 following internal investigations and was prohibited from teaching classes until 2023. He retired this past June.
Comaroff has denied the sexual misconduct allegations and said in a statement that the case had "had no bearing on my decision to retire."
