It has long been known that many college teachers go into that job for the sexual perks...

Professor found dead had been suspended for sexual harassment

A professor at Emerson College who was found dead in a park last month had been suspended without pay for sexual harassment after a lengthy investigation, university officials announced Tuesday.

Robert Todd, 54, a filmmaker who worked as the associate chair of Emerson’s Department of Visual & Media Arts, was reported missing on Aug. 16. The college’s president, Lee Pelton, confirmed his death days later, noting his “extraordinary talents, incredible vision and outstanding dedication” to both his art and teaching.

Todd, who worked at the college for more than 18 years, was last seen entering Franklin Park in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, where his body was later found, according to the Boston Globe. A cause of death has not been released, WBUR-FM reports.

But inaccurate statements surrounding the circumstances of Todd’s death “have been promulgated with the sad patina of truth,” Pelton told faculty members in remarks that were also posted on the college’s website.

“These assertions, in particular, have alarmed and disappointed me as a member of an academic community devoted to critical thinking, sound judgment, and discernment,” Pelton said. “While I understand the very human and innate impulse to construct meaning out of uncommon human events, it is difficult for me to understand the impulse to assert and facilitate unsubstantiated hearsay or rumors without direct or corroborating knowledge.”

As such, Pelton said he wanted to “shed clarifying light” on the actions Emerson College took prior to Todd’s death. Todd had been suspended without pay for the fall 2018 semester after a “months-long” probe found he had engaged in sexual harassment, Pelton said.

An Emerson staff member alleged in December 2017 that Todd engaged in multiple, linked incidents that violated the college’s sexual misconduct policy.

In addition to being suspended for the fall semester, Todd was required to work with a professional coach to “help him understand the impact of his behaviors,” as well to prevent repeat occurrences, Pelton said.

Additional third-party reports about Todd were also received by Emerson officials, but there was “insufficient evidence” to support those claims, Pelton said.

“While the college typically does not release such information, these extraordinary circumstances, the very public nature of Professor Todd’s death, the promulgations of falsehoods, and the continuing circulation of rumors and speculations, compelled me to speak to you today in order to provide an accurate and true accounting,” Pelton continued.

Todd, according to his website, had produced dozens of short films dating back to 1993. The “lyrical filmmaker” also worked as a sound and visual artist whose works routinely defied categorization, according to his Vimeo page.

A service for Todd will be held on Sept. 22 in Ashby, Massachusetts.