Kaja Whitehouse: Columbia professor found liable for sexual harassment: "Economics Professor Geert Bekaert took retaliatory jabs at his junior research partner, Enrichetta Ravina, the Manhattan federal court jury found...
...E-mails introduced at trial showed Bekaert trash-talking Ravina to colleagues after she complained about him—calling her “incredibly evil,” “insane,” “unstable,” “schizophrenic” and an “incredibly mean b.” Ravina’s lawyers claimed Bekaert purposefully stalled their joint research project so that she couldn’t present it at her tenure hearing. avina told the jury that Bekaert approached her to work on the research project together and soon became her mentor. But he often pushed work aside to talk about his sex life. “He talked about pornography, prostitution, and how prostitutes are important,” Ravina said.
The jury did not find Bekaert guilty of gender discrimination and they have yet to put a dollar figure on the verdict, which will be decided following a shorter trial about the emotional and economic hardship Ravina claims she suffered. She is asking for $31 million. The jury also let Columbia off the hook on all claims except for its responsibility tied to Bekaert’s retaliation...
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