'End Assault at Rutgers' delivers demands to Barchi at Board meeting

The coalition, "End Assault at Rutgers," spoke at yesterday’s Board of Governors meeting and gave University President Robert L. Barchi a letter of eight demands in response to the ongoing situation involving Dr. Nabil Adam. 

Olivia Wischmeyer spoke on behalf of the coalition, laying out its demands. One of the demands is to detenure Adam and any professor guilty of sexual abuse or harassment, have the accused professor be placed on unpaid administrative leave, require an investigation independent from the University, provide a semester of funding to graduate students who need to find a new advisor as a result of an independent or Office of Employment Equity investigation and require the Sexual Harassment Prevention Committee to conduct a mandatory yearly climate survey. 

The coalition is made up of more than 700 undergraduate, graduate, professors, staff and 14 organizations, Wischmeyer said. 

Dory Devlin, the senior director of University news and media relations, said the University takes all complaints of sexual harassment seriously and offers counseling or other support to alleged victims. 

The University Committee on Sexual Harassment Prevention at Rutgers is comprised of students, faculty and staff from all campuses, Devlin said, and is actively looking at ways to prevent sexual harassment and enhance transparency in our processes. 

“As has already been announced, Dr. Adam was permanently relieved of his responsibilities and authority as vice chancellor for Research and Collaborations and is not teaching at the University. The University is unable to comment on confidential personnel matters, including any corrective or disciplinary actions,” Devlin said. 

The Daily Targum reported in January that Adam, who previously worked as the vice chancellor for Research and Collaborations at Rutgers—Newark, has returned to an office at the Rutgers Business School in New Brunswick after a paid administrative leave that began on Nov. 28, 2017, when the University began an investigation into sexual assault and harassment claims made by a former graduate student of his. 

Both Adam and the graduate student have been given a University document stating the two should come into no contact with one another, the Targum reported. If there is a departmental meeting the two are scheduled to be at, they need to contact Rutgers University Police Department 48 hours in advance.