Sexual Harassment Complaints
Roland G. Fryer Jr. in 2016. Harvard is investigating his workplace behavior at the research lab he started there.CreditErik Jacobs for The New York Times
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Before he turned 40, Roland G. Fryer Jr. had earned tenure at Harvard, received a MacArthur “genius” grant and won the most prestigious award for young American economists. He stoked a national debate by concluding that police officers show no bias in the shootings of black men.
But his rapid ascent has taken a troubling turn as Harvard officials review a university investigator’s conclusion that Dr. Fryer fostered a work environment hostile to women, one filled with sexual talk and bullying.
The findings, reviewed by The New York Times, found that Dr. Fryer had engaged in “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” toward four women who worked in the Harvard-affiliated research lab he created. In one case, his “persistent and pervasive” conduct contributed to stress that resulted in the accuser’s taking disability leave, the investigator found. The investigator could not substantiate some allegations, including one asserting retaliation by Dr. Fryer.
Harvard is still investigating a similar complaint from a woman who worked in the lab a decade ago. That woman says Dr. Fryer made what she considered sexual overtures, then retaliated against her after she rebuffed him.
Harvard is not expected to take action until officials have finished investigating all of the complaints against him, according to people familiar with the process. Possible outcomes include a reprimand, suspension or dismissal.
As an African-American, Dr. Fryer has been a trailblazer in rising to the top tier of a field dominated by white men. He was, at 30, the youngest black professor to be granted tenure at Harvard.
Now 41, he is one of Harvard’s best-paid faculty members, earning more than $600,000, the university’s 2016 tax filing shows. He has brought at least $33.6 million in grants to the university, according to a résumé on his Harvard web page.
The sexual-harassment accusations have unsettled the economics profession, which is struggling with a history of bias against women. Dr. Fryer was recently elected to the executive board of the American Economic Association, the most prestigious body in academic economics, and the group says it will consider the Harvard inquiry’s conclusions when they are released.
Dr. Fryer told a Harvard investigator that any sexual banter in his office was related to his research and “in the spirit of academic freedom.” He wrote in his response to the complaint that “certainly no one ever brought to my attention that I ever said anything that made any employee uncomfortable.”
ut in interviews with The New York Times and for Harvard’s investigation, former employees described Dr. Fryer as a bully and the lab as a place where sexual jokes and comments were routine, and where employees were expected to laugh along with the group or risk being isolated. Documents and interviews suggest that Dr. Fryer was told repeatedly over the course of 10 years — by employees and by at least one university official — that his conduct was out of line.
A former assistant reported to a Harvard human resources office in late 2008 that Dr. Fryer was sending her unwelcome and sexually suggestive nighttime text messages. Dr. Fryer agreed to change his behavior, apparently on the advice of a university official. But he directed another employee to compile examples of poor performance by the accuser. He refused to write recommendations for economics graduate programs she was applying to, according to her complaint, and all rejected her.
The woman’s pending complaint, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, is one of at least three brought against Dr. Fryer under Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sex-based discrimination by educational institutions that receive federal funding. One of the cases was brought by Harvard’s Title IX office on behalf of several women. The filing of some of the complaints was first reported by The Harvard Crimson.
Separately, Harvard is investigating Dr. Fryer’s spending and the lab’s finances, according to several former employees who have been asked about the issue by university officials. In a statement for this article, Dr. Fryer said he “hired a first-rate finance team to insure both transparency and full compliance with Harvard policy.”
Last spring, Harvard imposed “interim measures” while conducting its investigations, including barring Dr. Fryer from entering the Education Innovation Laboratory, the off-campus space known as EdLabs where he has presided over a group of employees and research assistants.
This account draws on documents related to the allegations against Dr. Fryer and interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees of his laboratory, as well as other colleagues and associates, many of whom supplied copies of electronic communications with him. Nearly all insisted on confidentiality, fearing retaliation.
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Catch up and prep for the week ahead with this newsletter of the most important business insights, delivered Sundays.
Dr. Fryer, in a statement, portrayed the EdLabs workplace in a different light. “The lab has always been an extraordinarily collegial place,” he said. “Many people commented on each others’ lives outside of work including their dating and other relationships. Jokes and comments by both female and male lab workers of a sexual nature were occasionally part of such discussions. Not one person has ever complained to me or to any other manager or employee that I am aware of suggesting they felt uncomfortable about any of these interactions. That said, if any comments made in the past were found to be offensive or made anyone uncomfortable, that was certainly never my intent and I am deeply sorry.”
The Education Innovation Laboratory is housed in a building opposite Harvard’s campus. Dr. Fryer has been barred from entering the lab while the university investigates complaints against him.CreditTony Luong for The New York Times
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The Education Innovation Laboratory is housed in a building opposite Harvard’s campus. Dr. Fryer has been barred from entering the lab while the university investigates complaints against him.CreditTony Luong for The New York Times
Dr. Fryer also said that “I have never and would not retaliate against any employee.”
Rachael Dane, a Harvard spokeswoman, said the university was “aware of and take seriously concerns raised about the treatment of staff” but would not discuss or confirm any unresolved case.
Fear of Reprisals
Academic economics has struggled to advance women to doctorates and professorships. The approval of a small group of prominent researchers, mostly men, can make or break careers.
June Daniel, a lawyer who as executive director oversaw the lab’s administration for more than five years, recalled that Dr. Fryer complained when Harvard administrators pushed the Economics Department to find qualified female candidates for professorships. “Roland said that no such candidates exist,” Ms. Daniel wrote in response to questions from The New York Times.
Star Economist at Harvard Faces Sexual Harassment Complaints
Roland G. Fryer Jr. in 2016. Harvard is investigating his workplace behavior at the research lab he started there.CreditErik Jacobs for The New York Times
Image
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Before he turned 40, Roland G. Fryer Jr. had earned tenure at Harvard, received a MacArthur “genius” grant and won the most prestigious award for young American economists. He stoked a national debate by concluding that police officers show no bias in the shootings of black men.
But his rapid ascent has taken a troubling turn as Harvard officials review a university investigator’s conclusion that Dr. Fryer fostered a work environment hostile to women, one filled with sexual talk and bullying.
The findings, reviewed by The New York Times, found that Dr. Fryer had engaged in “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” toward four women who worked in the Harvard-affiliated research lab he created. In one case, his “persistent and pervasive” conduct contributed to stress that resulted in the accuser’s taking disability leave, the investigator found. The investigator could not substantiate some allegations, including one asserting retaliation by Dr. Fryer.
Harvard is still investigating a similar complaint from a woman who worked in the lab a decade ago. That woman says Dr. Fryer made what she considered sexual overtures, then retaliated against her after she rebuffed him.
Harvard is not expected to take action until officials have finished investigating all of the complaints against him, according to people familiar with the process. Possible outcomes include a reprimand, suspension or dismissal.
As an African-American, Dr. Fryer has been a trailblazer in rising to the top tier of a field dominated by white men. He was, at 30, the youngest black professor to be granted tenure at Harvard.
Now 41, he is one of Harvard’s best-paid faculty members, earning more than $600,000, the university’s 2016 tax filing shows. He has brought at least $33.6 million in grants to the university, according to a résumé on his Harvard web page.
The sexual-harassment accusations have unsettled the economics profession, which is struggling with a history of bias against women. Dr. Fryer was recently elected to the executive board of the American Economic Association, the most prestigious body in academic economics, and the group says it will consider the Harvard inquiry’s conclusions when they are released.
Dr. Fryer told a Harvard investigator that any sexual banter in his office was related to his research and “in the spirit of academic freedom.” He wrote in his response to the complaint that “certainly no one ever brought to my attention that I ever said anything that made any employee uncomfortable.”
ut in interviews with The New York Times and for Harvard’s investigation, former employees described Dr. Fryer as a bully and the lab as a place where sexual jokes and comments were routine, and where employees were expected to laugh along with the group or risk being isolated. Documents and interviews suggest that Dr. Fryer was told repeatedly over the course of 10 years — by employees and by at least one university official — that his conduct was out of line.
A former assistant reported to a Harvard human resources office in late 2008 that Dr. Fryer was sending her unwelcome and sexually suggestive nighttime text messages. Dr. Fryer agreed to change his behavior, apparently on the advice of a university official. But he directed another employee to compile examples of poor performance by the accuser. He refused to write recommendations for economics graduate programs she was applying to, according to her complaint, and all rejected her.
The woman’s pending complaint, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, is one of at least three brought against Dr. Fryer under Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sex-based discrimination by educational institutions that receive federal funding. One of the cases was brought by Harvard’s Title IX office on behalf of several women. The filing of some of the complaints was first reported by The Harvard Crimson.
Separately, Harvard is investigating Dr. Fryer’s spending and the lab’s finances, according to several former employees who have been asked about the issue by university officials. In a statement for this article, Dr. Fryer said he “hired a first-rate finance team to insure both transparency and full compliance with Harvard policy.”
Last spring, Harvard imposed “interim measures” while conducting its investigations, including barring Dr. Fryer from entering the Education Innovation Laboratory, the off-campus space known as EdLabs where he has presided over a group of employees and research assistants.
This account draws on documents related to the allegations against Dr. Fryer and interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees of his laboratory, as well as other colleagues and associates, many of whom supplied copies of electronic communications with him. Nearly all insisted on confidentiality, fearing retaliation.
Subscribe to With Interest
Catch up and prep for the week ahead with this newsletter of the most important business insights, delivered Sundays.
Dr. Fryer, in a statement, portrayed the EdLabs workplace in a different light. “The lab has always been an extraordinarily collegial place,” he said. “Many people commented on each others’ lives outside of work including their dating and other relationships. Jokes and comments by both female and male lab workers of a sexual nature were occasionally part of such discussions. Not one person has ever complained to me or to any other manager or employee that I am aware of suggesting they felt uncomfortable about any of these interactions. That said, if any comments made in the past were found to be offensive or made anyone uncomfortable, that was certainly never my intent and I am deeply sorry.”
The Education Innovation Laboratory is housed in a building opposite Harvard’s campus. Dr. Fryer has been barred from entering the lab while the university investigates complaints against him.CreditTony Luong for The New York Times
Image
The Education Innovation Laboratory is housed in a building opposite Harvard’s campus. Dr. Fryer has been barred from entering the lab while the university investigates complaints against him.CreditTony Luong for The New York Times
Dr. Fryer also said that “I have never and would not retaliate against any employee.”
Rachael Dane, a Harvard spokeswoman, said the university was “aware of and take seriously concerns raised about the treatment of staff” but would not discuss or confirm any unresolved case.
Fear of Reprisals
Academic economics has struggled to advance women to doctorates and professorships. The approval of a small group of prominent researchers, mostly men, can make or break careers.
June Daniel, a lawyer who as executive director oversaw the lab’s administration for more than five years, recalled that Dr. Fryer complained when Harvard administrators pushed the Economics Department to find qualified female candidates for professorships. “Roland said that no such candidates exist,” Ms. Daniel wrote in response to questions from The New York Times.
Star Economist at Harvard Faces Sexual Harassment Complaints
