Post by HCFC45 on Jun 20, 2019 20:46:22 GMT -5
Back in the news again... from the Telegram:
www.telegram.com/news/20190620/holy-cross-finds-former-college-organist-sexually-harassed-students
By Mark Sullivan
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted at 5:51 PM
Updated Jun 20, 2019 at 6:29 PM
WORCESTER - The College of the Holy Cross has completed an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against former college organist James David Christie and found Mr. Christie subjected students to “prohibited sexual harassment,” according to a notice from the college that was emailed to complainants last week.
The penalties to be brought by the college include a black mark on Mr. Christie’s employment record, a permanent ban from campus, and revocation of any past honors and awards. Restitution for the victims remains to be determined.
The college will issue a public statement to the Holy Cross community announcing the ruling and penalties against Mr. Christie as soon as a period set aside for appeals has concluded, a spokesman for the college, John Hill, said Thursday.
Two of the alumni who made the accusations against their former organ teacher commented Thursday: “Holy Cross reached the only result it could - that James David Christie violated College policy.
“The College has indicated it will now discuss remedial measures with us,” the two former students, Jacob Street and Sean Redrow, said in a joint text message. “We are waiting to see if the College, as Christie’s employer, takes substantive responsibility for Christie’s egregious misconduct and its impact on all of us.”
Mr. Street and Mr. Redrow were among five former holders of the college’s coveted Organ Scholarship who last summer publicly accused Mr. Christie, the college’s distinguished artist-in-residence and one of the most acclaimed organists of his generation, of sexual misconduct.
Mr. Christie resigned and was barred from campus. Holy Cross launched what the college’s president, the Rev. Philip Boroughs, pledged would be an “aggressive and thorough” review of the allegations against the organist, who was accused of having pressed himself sexually on student proteges, even in the organ loft of the campus chapel.
Tracy Kennedy, director of the college’s Office of Title IX Initiatives, responsible for investigating reports of sexual misconduct on campus, sent an email June 14 to the former students who had lodged the complaints against Mr. Christie, summarizing the findings of the investigation and the sanctions to be assigned.
Mr. Redrow posted excerpts to his Facebook page on Saturday. “HC Title IX has spoken,” he wrote. “Our part still to be figured out.” The Telegram & Gazette independently verified the content of the email the Holy Cross administrator sent the complainants.
Ms. Kennedy wrote that an investigatory panel had concluded that Mr. Christie - never named in the communication, but referred to only as “the Responding Party” - had engaged in unwelcome and inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature that constituted prohibited sexual harassment.
She described the sanctions handed down: Mr. Christie’s employment record with the college would reflect he had been terminated for cause; a campus no-trespass order against him would be made permanent; and any past awards or honors to him from the college would be revoked.
She wrote that Mr. Christie did not elect to participate in the investigation or resolution process, was not interviewed, and did not review or respond to the investigation report. He cannot appeal the result.
Mr. Christie, 67, of Natick, has been influential in classical music circles as an organist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Wellesley College, as well as Holy Cross and Oberlin College.
In August, the former Organ Scholars wrote to Rev. Boroughs and told their story to The Boston Globe, which reported their allegations of lewd comments, unwanted touching and sexual misconduct by Mr. Christie at Holy Cross between 1994 and 2017.
Oberlin College in February announced the results of its own investigation into similar allegations against Mr. Christie, finding the organist “in all likelihood grossly abused his position of trust.” According to a former student, Mr. Christie’s nickname at the Ohio college was “the Harvey Weinstein of the Music Department.”
Phone and email messages to Mr. Christie this week were not returned. Contacted in person at his home in South Natick in November, he declined to comment.
The former Holy Cross Organ Scholars who raised the allegations are Mr. Redrow (class of 1998), Mr. Street (class of 2010), Jeffrey Wood (class of 2006), Brett Maguire (class of 2002) and Jennifer McPherson (class of 2013).
Holy Cross’ Organ Scholarship, traditionally awarded every other year to a talented music major, provides full tuition (currently more than $52,000 annually) for four years, and is highly coveted. CBS New York has described it as “perhaps the most prestigious scholarship for the organ in America.”
With the scholarship comes the responsibility of playing the 52-foot-high, 10-ton baroque pipe organ in Holy Cross’ St. Joseph’s Chapel at Masses and other college events, and assisting the college organist with all aspects of the chapel music program.
Until last summer, that meant studying and working closely with Mr. Christie, who had been considered one of the most distinguished organ teachers in the nation, influential in the making of aspiring musicians’ careers.
The accusations against Mr. Christie were the first in a series of allegations of faculty sexual misconduct that have roiled the campus of New England’s oldest Jesuit college over the past year.
Misconduct claims also were made public against Christopher Dustin, a philosophy professor who was removed as dean of faculty and placed on leave after allegations were brought to light of unwanted sexual advances made upon former students.
Meantime, students demanding greater transparency about sexual assault at the college created an Instagram page for posting anonymous accounts of date rape on campus, and in February staged a two-day sit-in outside the office of the college president.
In April, Rev. Boroughs declined to retain an independent investigator to look into allegations of faculty sexual misconduct at the college, despite being urged to do so by faculty leaders. The Faculty Assembly voted to call on the board of trustees to appoint an independent counsel nonetheless.
Last month, 87 members of the faculty signed a letter describing frustration at what was termed the administration’s “unwillingness to answer questions central to this brewing crisis.” Many faculty members at the college’s 173rd commencement exercises wore teal stoles with their academic regalia as a mark of solidarity with survivors of harassment and assault.
www.telegram.com/news/20190620/holy-cross-finds-former-college-organist-sexually-harassed-students
By Mark Sullivan
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted at 5:51 PM
Updated Jun 20, 2019 at 6:29 PM
WORCESTER - The College of the Holy Cross has completed an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against former college organist James David Christie and found Mr. Christie subjected students to “prohibited sexual harassment,” according to a notice from the college that was emailed to complainants last week.
The penalties to be brought by the college include a black mark on Mr. Christie’s employment record, a permanent ban from campus, and revocation of any past honors and awards. Restitution for the victims remains to be determined.
The college will issue a public statement to the Holy Cross community announcing the ruling and penalties against Mr. Christie as soon as a period set aside for appeals has concluded, a spokesman for the college, John Hill, said Thursday.
Two of the alumni who made the accusations against their former organ teacher commented Thursday: “Holy Cross reached the only result it could - that James David Christie violated College policy.
“The College has indicated it will now discuss remedial measures with us,” the two former students, Jacob Street and Sean Redrow, said in a joint text message. “We are waiting to see if the College, as Christie’s employer, takes substantive responsibility for Christie’s egregious misconduct and its impact on all of us.”
Mr. Street and Mr. Redrow were among five former holders of the college’s coveted Organ Scholarship who last summer publicly accused Mr. Christie, the college’s distinguished artist-in-residence and one of the most acclaimed organists of his generation, of sexual misconduct.
Mr. Christie resigned and was barred from campus. Holy Cross launched what the college’s president, the Rev. Philip Boroughs, pledged would be an “aggressive and thorough” review of the allegations against the organist, who was accused of having pressed himself sexually on student proteges, even in the organ loft of the campus chapel.
Tracy Kennedy, director of the college’s Office of Title IX Initiatives, responsible for investigating reports of sexual misconduct on campus, sent an email June 14 to the former students who had lodged the complaints against Mr. Christie, summarizing the findings of the investigation and the sanctions to be assigned.
Mr. Redrow posted excerpts to his Facebook page on Saturday. “HC Title IX has spoken,” he wrote. “Our part still to be figured out.” The Telegram & Gazette independently verified the content of the email the Holy Cross administrator sent the complainants.
Ms. Kennedy wrote that an investigatory panel had concluded that Mr. Christie - never named in the communication, but referred to only as “the Responding Party” - had engaged in unwelcome and inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature that constituted prohibited sexual harassment.
She described the sanctions handed down: Mr. Christie’s employment record with the college would reflect he had been terminated for cause; a campus no-trespass order against him would be made permanent; and any past awards or honors to him from the college would be revoked.
She wrote that Mr. Christie did not elect to participate in the investigation or resolution process, was not interviewed, and did not review or respond to the investigation report. He cannot appeal the result.
Mr. Christie, 67, of Natick, has been influential in classical music circles as an organist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Wellesley College, as well as Holy Cross and Oberlin College.
In August, the former Organ Scholars wrote to Rev. Boroughs and told their story to The Boston Globe, which reported their allegations of lewd comments, unwanted touching and sexual misconduct by Mr. Christie at Holy Cross between 1994 and 2017.
Oberlin College in February announced the results of its own investigation into similar allegations against Mr. Christie, finding the organist “in all likelihood grossly abused his position of trust.” According to a former student, Mr. Christie’s nickname at the Ohio college was “the Harvey Weinstein of the Music Department.”
Phone and email messages to Mr. Christie this week were not returned. Contacted in person at his home in South Natick in November, he declined to comment.
The former Holy Cross Organ Scholars who raised the allegations are Mr. Redrow (class of 1998), Mr. Street (class of 2010), Jeffrey Wood (class of 2006), Brett Maguire (class of 2002) and Jennifer McPherson (class of 2013).
Holy Cross’ Organ Scholarship, traditionally awarded every other year to a talented music major, provides full tuition (currently more than $52,000 annually) for four years, and is highly coveted. CBS New York has described it as “perhaps the most prestigious scholarship for the organ in America.”
With the scholarship comes the responsibility of playing the 52-foot-high, 10-ton baroque pipe organ in Holy Cross’ St. Joseph’s Chapel at Masses and other college events, and assisting the college organist with all aspects of the chapel music program.
Until last summer, that meant studying and working closely with Mr. Christie, who had been considered one of the most distinguished organ teachers in the nation, influential in the making of aspiring musicians’ careers.
The accusations against Mr. Christie were the first in a series of allegations of faculty sexual misconduct that have roiled the campus of New England’s oldest Jesuit college over the past year.
Misconduct claims also were made public against Christopher Dustin, a philosophy professor who was removed as dean of faculty and placed on leave after allegations were brought to light of unwanted sexual advances made upon former students.
Meantime, students demanding greater transparency about sexual assault at the college created an Instagram page for posting anonymous accounts of date rape on campus, and in February staged a two-day sit-in outside the office of the college president.
In April, Rev. Boroughs declined to retain an independent investigator to look into allegations of faculty sexual misconduct at the college, despite being urged to do so by faculty leaders. The Faculty Assembly voted to call on the board of trustees to appoint an independent counsel nonetheless.
Last month, 87 members of the faculty signed a letter describing frustration at what was termed the administration’s “unwillingness to answer questions central to this brewing crisis.” Many faculty members at the college’s 173rd commencement exercises wore teal stoles with their academic regalia as a mark of solidarity with survivors of harassment and assault.