The Board of Trustees voted to revoke two faculty members’ emeritus titles following investigations into research misconduct and sexual harassment. Credit: Lantern file photo
Ohio State’s Board of Trustees approved the revocation of two professors’ emeritus titles in its public session meeting Thursday — the second and third faculty members to lose the titles since former university physician Richard Strauss.
The former professors, Samson Jacob and Bradley Peterson, were each found in violation of university faculty rules. Investigations found Jacob had committed research misconduct and Peterson had sexually harassed graduate students and faculty members, according to the Board of Trustees meeting agenda.
President Kristina M. Johnson, with board approval, has the authority to revoke emeritus status, an honorary title given in recognition of sustained academic contributions to the university upon retirement, “if an emeritus faculty member at any time engages in serious dishonorable conduct in violation of law, rule or policy and/or causes harm to the university’s reputation,” according to university faculty rules.
Strauss was the last faculty member to lose the emeritus title before Jacob and Paterson.
Strauss was the team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the university’s Student Wellness Center from 1978-98. An independent investigation called the Perkins Coie report submitted May 15, 2019, found that Strauss abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his time at the university, and Ohio State was aware of complaints against him and failed to act.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005 and was revoked of his emeritus title May 30, 2019.
Ohio State’s College of Medicine Investigation Committee in February found Jacob, a former professor emeritus in the Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics effective September 2016, committed research misconduct related to 14 allegations, according to the agenda.
In 2018, Jacob retracted nine research papers that he published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, according to the Retraction Watch. All of the retraction notices state the journal had questioned some figures in the data.
“The committee found that Dr. Jacob deviated from the accepted practices of image handling, figure review and/or manuscript correction and intentionally, knowingly, and/or recklessly reporting falsified research data,” Kristina Johnson stated in a letter to the Board of Trustees.
A notice by the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 2018 stated a paper Jacob authored contained concerning figures. He and the other authors offered to present a repeated experiment that would confirm their results, but the journal declined the offer and retracted the paper.
“After reviewing the findings of the investigation, the dean of the College of Medicine and the executive vice president and provost recommended that the university revoke Dr. Jacob’s emeritus status,” Kristina Johnson stated. “I agree and am seeking the board’s approval to immediately revoke emeritus status from Dr. Jacob.”
Jacob did not respond to request for comment.
In a separate incident, the Office of Institutional Equity found Peterson, a former professor emeritus in the Department of Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences effective July 2015, had sexually harassed four graduate students and faculty members over an extended period, according to the agenda. University spokesperson Ben Johnson said the investigation was completed Feb. 1.
“In this case, an investigation by the Office of Equity found that Dr. Peterson committed sexual harassment in a manner that was persistent and pervasive,” Kristina Johnson stated in a letter within the Board of Trustees agenda. “Four courageous individuals shared stories about unwanted advances from Dr. Peterson that limited their ability to do their respective jobs.”
Peterson did not respond to request for comment.
Kristina Johnson stated in the letter that university officials did not know of Peterson’s misconduct at the time his emeritus status was awarded.
“Given the findings of the investigation, the interim chair of the Department of Astronomy, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and he executive vice president and provost all recommend that the university revoke Dr. Peterson’s emeritus status,” Kristina Johnson stated.
Emeritus faculty have a permanent university ID card permitting library privileges, continued use of their Ohio State email account and recreational facilities, access to athletic tickets, office space and eligibility to receive campus-wide news publications issued by the university, according to Ohio State’s Board of Trustees’ bylaws.
