‘21st Century Animal House’: Class Action Alleges Dartmouth Professors Sexually Assaulted, Harassed Female Students

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Three former Dartmouth College professors are the subject of a proposed class action lawsuit filed by seven women who claim the men turned the school’s Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences into a “21st Century Animal House” plagued by gender discrimination and sexual assault. Despite receiving numerous complaints with regard to these professors, identified in the suit as Todd Heatherton, William Kelley, and Paul Whalen, Dartmouth allegedly shrugged off the issue “for more than sixteen years.”

Dubbed by the 72-page lawsuit as the “Predators’ Club,” the professors, according to the plaintiffs, treated female students as “sex objects” and rewarded students who participated in their “party culture” with academic attention while neglecting those who refused to engage in their antics.

“Among other things,” the complaint reads, “these professors conducted professional lab meetings at bars, invited students to late-night ‘hot tub parties’ in their personal homes, and invited undergraduate students to use real cocaine during classes related to addiction as part of a ‘demonstration.’”

The suit goes on to allege the men hand-picked “young, attractive female students” to work in their labs and “leered at, groped, sexted, intoxicated, and even raped” the women.

Moreover, the plaintiffs, who the suit describes as exemplary female scientists at the start of their careers, claim that despite students filing complaints about the professors as early as 2002, Dartmouth essentially ignored the issue. Even after a group of female graduate students banded together in April 2017 to file a complaint with the school’s Title IX office, Dartmouth “did nothing,” the case says. The lawsuit alleges that it wasn’t until October 2017,  after news of the professors’ supposed behavior leaked to the media and at least 27 other complaints were filed with the Title IX office, that the school finally disclosed the existence of an investigation. Later that month, the New Hampshire Attorney General reportedly launched a criminal investigation into allegations against the three men.

In July 2018, one of the professors was allowed to retire while the other two resigned, the suit says.

“Dartmouth eventually hired an outside attorney to conduct an ‘independent investigation’ in which Plaintiffs were told they would have a voice. Instead, Dartmouth unilaterally stopped the investigation and allowed the three professors to retire and/or resign in July 2018, more than fifteen months after Plaintiffs filed their initial complaints.”

The case, which names the Trustees of Dartmouth College as the sole defendant, alleges violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as claims of negligence, sexual harassment, and retaliation.