Law Schools

Law Dean Resigns After Sexual Harassment Allegations, But Will Be Back As Highest Paid Professor

He was allowed to resign from his position for 'personal reasons.'

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Jeffrey Standen

If you’re a high-profile man accused of sexual harassment or other inappropriate conduct, what’s your next move? It turns out resignation might be the best move.

We’ve documented how Judge Alex Kozinski’s resignation from the Ninth Circuit halted the investigation into the allegations against him, and may have been the easy way out. Now comes the story of another high-profile man — this time a law dean — who resigned from his position in the face of misconduct allegations. The twist in this case is that the man in question, Jeffrey Standen, will stay on at Northern Kentucky University Law School as a professor — and the highest paid one, at that.

As reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer, multiple women who worked for Standen complained about his behavior, saying he created an uncomfortable work environment by making them bend over or otherwise display themselves and commenting on their appearance:

The full-time employee reported that Standen made her stand on a table while wearing a dress to reach an air vent, and then hold on to his belt loop while he did the same.

One of the student workers reported Standen would drop things and make her pick them up and made her rearrange items on the bottom and top shelves of a bookcase repeatedly “and he watched me the whole time.”

That same woman said Standen made repeated requests for a hug on her last day and for her to try on a T-shirt in front of him. She also said he previously tried several times to set her up with his son on a date.

Standen “made me uncomfortable to the point that all my friends could tell when I had finished a shift there because of my mood,” she wrote.

“Dean Standen also made comments about my physical appearance that went past the norm,” the complaint stated. “If I didn’t wear makeup or dress up he would ask if I was sick then proceed to be measurably more condescending and cold than usual.”

All three reported that he routinely commented on their mode of dress.

“I often found that times that us girls wore dresses, skirts, or leggings seemed to be when he asked to do things in his office like arrange his bookshelves or stand on chairs to fix his vent,” the third woman, a former student, wrote in her complaint.

Staten denied the allegations saying:

“I am demanding of my co-workers, much as I am of myself,” Standen wrote. “I was informed by university officials that it was the perception of hostility, and not hostility itself, that led to complaints. At no time did I ever intentionally act with anger toward my co-workers.”

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Northern Kentucky conducted an investigation into the allegations and found that while Standen violated Northern Kentucky University’s Values and Ethical Responsibilities Policy, his actions were not sexual misconduct. The report found “sufficient evidence to support a finding of an unhealthy culture of fear, intimidation and bullying.” And a “[p]erception created by Dean that he does not respect employees and treats them with belittling and demeaning actions or statements, especially women.”

Standen was allowed to resign from his position for “personal reasons.” He told the Enquirer, “My decision to resign had nothing to do with the investigation or the complaints. My reasons are personal and I shall leave them as such.”

After he resigned, the NKU Provost Sue Ott Rowlands offered him a position as a professor at the law school. (The school said it is policy to allow deans to stay at the university as professor when they resign.) That would mean a 15 percent pay cut, but still make Standen the highest paid professor making nearly $222,000 a year. He accepted the position.

The university’s Board of Regents says it is “very comfortable” with this result:

Rich Boehne, chairman of NKU’s Board of Regents, said the board stands by the final outcome.

“This started with some rumors, and then the university folks proactively reached out to those potentially involved and moved very quickly to look into this,” Boehne said. “The board is very comfortable with the investigation and the conclusion reached and how they handled it from there as they followed the school’s policy and this was not just an arbitrary decision.”

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So I guess students should just take it on faith that Standen will not foster a similar environment of “fear, intimidation and bullying” in a classroom. And women should just hope he won’t make any “belittling and demeaning actions or statements,” because it sure doesn’t look like the school is doing much to make sure it doesn’t happen.

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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