Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

CCSU seeks to fire two professors for alleged sexual misconduct

  • Education
  • by Kathleen Megan
  • January 22, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

CCSU

Students on the Central Connecticut State University campus in New Britain

Central Connecticut State University President Zulma R. Toro announced Tuesday that she is seeking to fire two longtime theater professors after investigators concluded that each had likely engaged in sexual misconduct with one or more students.

Toro also announced plans to appoint new leadership for the university’s Office of Diversity & Equity and to reorganize the human resources department after evidence showed that administrators for years failed to take proper action on complaints of sexual misconduct.

The two professors are Joshua Perlstein, hired in 1992, who was placed on paid administrative leave in April, and Thomas Delventhal, who was hired in 1998 and was placed on paid leave last week. Both professors continue to draw their salaries, which are in the $100,000 range.

“I am disgusted and disheartened by the new findings indicating two of our professors repeatedly engaged in sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior with their students,” Toro said in statement. “Also disturbing are the apparent failures by administrators who, over the years, did not protect our students. The findings pinpoint vital changes that are needed to ensure past misbehaviors, mistakes and inaction are not repeated at this university.”

Toro hired the Hartford law firm Shipman & Goodwin LLP nine months ago to conduct the investigation after an article appeared in CCSU’s student newspaper, The Recorder, revealing allegations of sexual misconduct by Perlstein. The same article also detailed a lack of administrative action when complaints were made.

The investigation, which entailed reviewing thousands of documents, emails, and texts and interviews with dozens of faculty, staff and current and former students, found significant evidence that Perlstein was likely involved in sexual misconduct with several students, including a lengthy, manipulative relationship with one student that continued after her graduation.

It also found that he had a “history of questionable interactions” with female students, was untruthful to investigators and attempted to conceal his problematic conduct because he believed it would put his job in jeopardy.

Following up on students’ complaints about Delventhal, the investigators said that he admitted, over the years, to kissing five students on the neck and/or forehead, was untruthful during his investigatory interview, and denied attempting to engage in any relationship with current or former students.

Perlstein said Tuesday he had “no comment at this time,” while Delventhal could not be reached for comment.

Central Connecticut State University President Zulma R. Toro

CCSU

CCSU President Zulma R. Toro

Toro said she is taking the steps required by collective bargaining to dismiss both professors. She said the process involves “a number of faculty panels” and could take as long as a year, but she doesn’t expect the professors would continue to be paid that entire time.

Besides appointing new leadership for the Office of Diversity & Equity, Toro said she plans to explore a new model for investigating sexual harassment, bullying and misconduct on campus, and to adopt an institution-wide reporting, monitoring and tracking system to collect and disseminate data, as well as taking other steps.

Toro noted that the most recent chief diversity officer, Rosa Rodriguez, left her post on Friday for “personnel reasons” that Toro said she could not discuss. She did say that Rodriguez would be going to a new position at Capital Community College “for some time.”

“To those who bravely shared their stories with out investigators, I am immensely grateful,” Toro said. “This has been a painful process for all of those involved. I am resolved to take the actions necessary to ensure our campus is a safe environment for all and to restore faith and pride in Connecticut’s oldest public institution of higher education.”

Toro said she realized it may be a “sad day for the survivors, but at the same time I think it’s the beginning of a process that will help them heal and I think that will be positive at the end of the day.”

Mark Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, said he applauds Toro “for taking prompt and decisive action to make CCSU – and the theatre department in particular – a better, more welcoming learning environment.”

He said the reports identify important steps needed to ensure that “all sexual misconduct complaints are received with the utmost seriousness, thoroughly investigated, and acted upon accordingly. I am beyond confident in the President’s ability to oversee and implement the necessary cultural and policy changes in a thoughtful and transparent manner.”

A troubled theater department

The investigators paint a picture of a theater department that is rife with tension and conflict among professors, while also quite informal. Those interviewed said that students and some faculty frequently socialize at parties or other gatherings where alcohol is consumed.

In addition, those interviewed raised concerns with investigators about the “propriety” of some theater class exercises, such as massage circles.

“It appears as though the informality of the department has led to a climate in which personal space and boundaries are not respected,” the report said.

Faculty, administrators and students reported that there were ” rumors” about relationships between professors and students for years, which they believe have not been properly addressed, the report said.

The report includes concerns that Rodriguez, the most recent chief diversity officer, as well as her predecessors, are “not welcoming or friendly, and in some cases intimidating and/or lacking follow through.”

The investigators said the office is not fulfilling “the crucial function of receiving, investigating and addressing complaints.”

In addition, the investigators found that Human Resources officials failed to interview complainants or witnesses about alleged misconduct involving theater faculty members.

Rodriguez’s office referred questions about the report to the university’s public relations office.

In at least one case, the report said, a former human resources officer named Anne Alling contacted a relevant potential witness and then later sent the same individual an email indicating that an interview was no longer required, even though the concern still existed and the faculty member remained employed at the university. In two other cases, another former Human Resources officer, Lou Pisano, failed to interview a relevant student witness before making a determination on the matter.

Had the human resource office conducted further inquiry in those cases, the report said, “the outcome may have been substantially different and more significant prior discipline issued up to and including termination of the professor’s employment.”

The report also said that it is troubling that other high level administrators did not take action to prevent a recurrence.  The report says  that a former dean and provost, Susan Pease, in setting goals for the theater department in 2014, said that faculty needed to “shape up,” adding that  “shape up means: 1) they have to stop sleeping with students 2) they have to stop yelling at students and each other,” and several other goals including putting “on shows that people want to see.”

“Despite the fact that she was aware of these complaints, she did not effectively address them,” the report said.

Pease, who retired last February, said in an email Tuesday that the “goals” were sent “in an informal email to the acting chair of Theater I had recommended for appointment and represented my frustration with the department.”

Students described Perlstein as “creepy”

The report says nearly all of the students interviewed used the word “creepy” to describe Perlstein and reported that he routinely conducted warm-up exercises, improvisations and visualizations in class in which he sometimes asked students to imagine themselves naked or act out words representing various sexual activities such as “sex” and “orgasm.”

Several students said they told investigators that at times they caught Perlstein looking at them during these exercises in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.

Current and former students also told investigators that Perlstein would make comments about their weight, body parts and sexuality. He told one student she was not “sexual enough” to play a certain role. He also told that student, “You walk into a room and your tits are like bam.”

Some told investigators that Perlstein seemed to deliberately choose plays that included sexual themes or nudity.

The report tells of two instances in which Perlstein was accused of kissing students. The first was in the 1990s, when the student alleged that Perlstein approached her from behind and tried to kiss her on the lips while she stood outside the Black Box Theater at CCSU.

The student managed to turn her head so the kiss landed on her cheek, according to the report, but Perlstein allegedly whispered to her that she should “not attempt to pull away when [he is] trying to kiss her.”

A few weeks later the student confronted Perlstein and told him that he had made her uncomfortable and he should never attempt to do that again. The student told investigators that Perlstein was most concerned during that exchange about whether she had reported the incident to the university.

The report said that during his interview with the investigators, Perlstein denied engaging in the alleged conduct or said it was the result of a “misunderstanding.” In the case involving the student outside the Black Box theater, the report said Perlstein claimed  “he was merely trying to congratulate her after she allegedly told him that she was ‘getting married.'”

The investigators said this is not “credible given the fact that the student was already married when she enrolled in the university a few years earlier.”

Perlstein also disputed the account of a student in which he was found by CCSU to have engaged in “inappropriate behavior/sexual harassment.” The student accused him of kissing her, hugging her and touching her buttocks. Perlstein said he had been having an “emotional” not “sexual” conversation with her and kissed her on the cheek, but he denied touching her buttocks.

According to Perlstein, the CCSU staff member at the time told him that “if we call it sexual harassment, it will go away.” Perlstein claimed that he was told that otherwise, there was a “high likelihood” that the matter would be pursued with authorities by the student’s “crazy father,” the report said. Perlstein therefore accepted the findings of the CCSU report because he thought it would end the inquiry, according to the Shipman & Goodwin report.

Anna Kelly, who was the student in this incident and is now in her mid-30s living in Hartford, said she is encouraged to know the report will be “a catalyst to move the school forward — that it’s going to bring about actual change and actual consequences for these people who have gone unchecked and unpunished for a long time.”

In his interview, the report said, Perlstein admitted that he engaged in a consensual relationship with a student he was teaching and advising in 2013, but claimed it was limited to a one or two weeks while he was advising her.

But the  report said that “substantial electronic communications” between the professor and the student demonstrate that their inappropriate relationship lasted for “an extended period of time” from 2013 until the summer of 2014 when the student graduated, with some breaks along the way.

In August 2013, Perlstein was disciplined by the university for having a relationship with a student he was teaching and advising  but the report says it is clear that both before and after that, Perlstein continued to advise, assist and direct activities involving the student.

Perlstein said the relationship with the student, whether before or after she graduated, was consensual and not coercive, the report said. But the student told the investigators that she did not believe the relationship was “fully consensual on her part.”

Because Perlstein was her adviser for her honors thesis, the student told investigators she believed she needed his assistance to successfully complete her project and graduate.

“She claims that she felt as though she had no choice but to capitulate to his demands,” the report said.

Evidence of their ongoing relationship can be found in multiple texts included in the report including one from early 2014, the report said, in which Perlstein says, “Sorry about attacking your butt … it was aggressive and wrong …have a swell day. Love yoi [sic] ”

The texts included in the report depict a controlling and manipulative relationship in which Perlstein tried to keep the relationship going while the student tried to break it off, but feared that doing so might harm her academic and theater career.

“The extensive communications demonstrate that he engaged in a long-term sexual relationship significantly beyond what any reasonable person would view as appropriate between a professor and student,” the report said. The report said further that the text messages demonstrate that Perlstein was aware his actions were wrong.

Ashley Malloy, who has identified herself as the young woman who had the long relationship with Perlstein and who is now in a graduate school theater program in San Francisco said the reports offers “some relief that the truth is finally coming out but the fact that it’s this long overdue definitely doesn’t take the sting out of what has happened.”

“To just read in no uncertain terms the extent to which the administration was aware of what was going on,” Malloy said, “is so disheartening and destroyed whatever little bit of faith I had left in the institution.”

But she said she does applaud Toro’s actions.

Delventhal admits to kissing at least five students

During his interview, Delventhal admitted that he probably kissed at least five students on the neck and forehead.

Delventhal told investigator that this was a way of expressing his endearment for a student and explained that this was the manner in which he was kissed by female members of his family. He said he did not see it as inappropriate or sexual in nature.

However, at least one student told investigator that his kisses made her uncomfortable.

The investigators found that Delventhal “knew or should have known” that such contact was inappropriate and not in compliance with university policies.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 4:28 p.m.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Megan Kathleen Megan wrote for more than three decades for the Hartford Courant, covering education in recent years and winning many regional and national awards. She is now covering education and child welfare issues for the Mirror.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
What we’ve lost, what we’ve learned during our year of COVID
by CT Mirror Staff

On March 6, 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the first case of COVID-19 had been detected in Connecticut, and within weeks, life as we knew it was a memory. Schools were shut down, universities emptied, businesses shuttered. Those of us who were fortunate enough to be able to work from home set up shop at our […]

1,500 Hartford school staff to be vaccinated this week at pop-up clinic
by Adria Watson

Vaccinations are taking place Thursday and Friday. A second round will be scheduled in coming days.

With billions in federal relief on the way to CT, legislators assert their role in deciding how to spend it
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas

With an unusual bill, state legislators are reminding Gov. Ned Lamont they have significant role in disbursing federal coronavirus relief.

As the push to reopen schools intensifies, Miguel Cardona and first lady Jill Biden travel to Meriden to show how this town did it
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Adria Watson

Cardona said getting the nation's schools reopened is priority No. 1.

Will getting teachers vaccinated get students back in school full time? It might not be that easy
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, Kasturi Pananjady and Adria Watson

Districts will have to convince parents and students that in-person learning is safe and that students won't bring COVID-19 home.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Assisted suicide lobby spreads falsehoods to promote systemic ableism
by Stephen Mendelsohn

Proponents of assisted suicide repeatedly spread falsehoods to promote their lethal and ableist agenda.  The February 8 op-ed, “Aid in dying is not assisted suicide” is no exception. Suicide is defined as the act of taking one’s life intentionally.  The person who intentionally ingests a prescribed lethal overdose more closely fits the dictionary definition of suicide than the despondent person who jumps off a bridge.  The desire for suicide is a cry for help, even when redefined as a “medical treatment option.”

Opinion TCI will create a fourth gasoline tax
by Christian A. Herb

The Transportation Climate Initiative, or TCI, calls for a proposed emissions fee on gasoline to help battle climate change. On the surface, supporters say it is a small price to pay to help save the planet; and if you truly believe that this is the case, then you should consider voting for it. Despite the administration’s efforts to go out of their way to not call TCI a tax, the simple truth is that it will only create additional financial hardships on lower- and middle-income families struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.

Opinion Let’s keep telehealth when the pandemic ends
by Steven Madonick, MD

Telehealth may lead to positive, even transformational changes in psychiatric care, and Connecticut needs to keep it after the pandemic. Connecticut needs to pass the necessary laws to continue telehealth and telephonic care.

Opinion The public health bill no one is talking about, but should be
by Brian Festa

On February 16,  the legislature's Public Health Committee conducted a public hearing on two bills, S.B. 568 and H.B. 6423, both of which would eliminate the religious exemption to mandatory vaccinations for Connecticut schoolchildren.  The hearing was capped at 24 hours, depriving nearly 1,500 members of the public who had registered for the hearing their opportunity to be heard.  The vast majority of those who did testify, and who submitted written testimony, opposed the bill.  The committee is expected to vote on the bill as early as  today. 

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO