The incident took place in October 2019.
A college professor in the United States has been fired for allegedly asking female students to remove their shirts, according to Fox5 DC. The action was taken after an investigation by the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education in the incident. The three-month-long investigation revealed that the professor had created a hostile environment by instructing approximately 11 female students to remove their shirts down to their sports bras as part of a class demonstration. He also made inappropriate comments about their breasts, claiming it was related to a medical assessment, despite no requirement for clothing removal or such commentary, the outlet further said.
According to Fox5 DC, when some of the women wore lab jackets for modesty, the professor insisted they remove them. The incident occurred at the Takoma/Silver Spring campus and was initially reported in October 2019. After the investigation, the male faculty member - whose name has not been released - was immediately placed on administrative leave and later fired.
A spokesperson for Montgomery College expressed gratitude for the thorough investigation carried out by OCR and expressed full support to the resolutions outlined in the final report, which was made public recently.
During the investigation, it was discovered that one of the female students involved had failed the course, believing it was due to the harassment, Fox5 DC said in its report. The college assisted her in re-enrolling and covered the expenses for her to retake the class. Additionally, the college offered tuition reimbursement or covered the costs for at least three other students in the same class to retake the course.
Although the professor was ultimately fired, some unanswered questions remain: The college has not disclosed whether the matter was referred to the police, why the professor's name has not been revealed, or which specific class was involved.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was quoted as saying by the outlet: "I wouldn't expect anybody to release anyone's name until there's been an investigation. If it's not a police matter, if it's like discipline, a personnel matter, personnel things don't get discussed."
While the report commended Montgomery College for promptly conducting an investigation, it expressed concern that not all individuals involved were informed of the findings. Council member Will Jawando, who chairs the Education Committee, expressed surprise at learning about the incident four years after it occurred.
Mr Jawando personally contacted the college president and acknowledged that privacy concerns might explain the limited information released. Nevertheless, he believes the professor's name should be disclosed and intends to advocate for that outcome.
The Department of Education has mandated that the college notify all the affected students by August 15. The resolution agreement also requires the college to provide the Office for Civil Rights with the results of the 2022 climate survey and a summary of the steps taken in response to any concerns raised by the survey before September 15.
Although Montgomery College operates under its own board of trustees, responsible for establishing policies, Mr Jawando emphasised that the county provides funding to the college, granting the council power in financial matters related to the institution.