The Juilliard School in New York City.
In Thursday’s (6/8) New York Times, Javier C. Hernández writes, “The Juilliard School has fired a professor who had been accused of sexually harassing students after an independent investigation found ‘credible evidence’ that he had ‘engaged in conduct which interfered with individuals’ academic work,’ the school said in a letter to students, staff, faculty and alumni on Thursday. Juilliard said the professor, Robert Beaser, 69, who served as chair of the composition department from 1994 to 2018, had behaved in a manner that was ‘inconsistent with Juilliard’s commitment to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for its students.’ The school [said] that the investigation had found evidence of a past ‘unreported relationship’ and that Beaser had ‘repeatedly misrepresented facts about his actions.’ Richard C. Schoenstein, a lawyer for Beaser, denied that his client had misled his employer. He said the relationship in question took place three decades ago, had been known to Juilliard since then and had been the subject of previous inquiries. He … said that Beaser would ‘pursue his legal rights in full.’…The inquiry was ordered after an investigation in December 2022 by VAN, a classical music magazine, that detailed accusations against Beaser and other Juilliard composition teachers…. ‘Juilliard is committed to providing a safe, supportive and welcoming environment for all members of our school community, and to addressing concerns past and present,’ [Juilliard] said. ‘No form of discrimination or harassment is tolerated, and we take all allegations reported to us seriously.’ ”
