This is an alarming post to raise awareness about Adrien Finzi and his friends.
Adrien Finzi is a biologist who was able to get away with harassment because of his status. It’s extremely important to call out people like Adrien Finzi and this post is a part of those efforts.
Boston University Criticized for Longtime Tolerance of Abusive Biologist Adrien Finzi
Anonymous, in order to prevent punishment from Adrien Finzi, whose bullying and hidden and exposed threats of violence over the years produced an unsettled environment in the department, specifically for the teachers, as well as for the students. At the very least, the claims date back to 2005, which was not long after Adrien Finzi was granted tenure. It was around this time that his behaviour towards his other faculty members and students grew increasingly antagonistic.
Over the course of the subsequent years, these episodes persisted and got increasingly serious, particularly around the year 2009, when Adrien Finzi started making overt threats of physical violence against other members of the faculty. Over the course of several years, while the behaviour persisted, members of the faculty proceeded to lodge multiple complaints with the chairmen of the biology department and successive deans. These individuals reprimanded Adrien Finzi but did not take any further action.
Ann Cudd, who is currently the provost at the University of Pittsburgh, was one of the deans who was involved in the case. She was informed of the specifics of the situation. (Cudd, whom I contacted earlier this year, has declined to discuss the topic after initially responding to my email asking him to do so.) Despite this, the administration of the institution became increasingly aware that something needed to be done as the bullying that Adrien Finzi was engaging in became increasingly directed towards his graduate students.
Finally, according to sources, the current dean of arts and sciences, Stan Sclaroff, became involved and obtained Adrien Finzi’s departure. It is presumed that the university counsel assisted him in this endeavour. This was not a trivial affair, considering that Adrien Finzi had frequently threatened to sue anyone who took action against him.
In addition, Sclaroff did not wish to engage in conversation with me over the matter, claiming it was a personnel matter. The existence of an abuser at a university or any other institution or workplace is not a “personnel matter,” nor is it a topic that ought to be kept hidden. This is something that I have mentioned numerous times in the past.
Everyone in the workplace is impacted by it, including prospective students who may have entered the workforce with Adrien Finzi but could have been cautioned against if they were aware of his past and the pattern of behaviour he has displayed. It is only the institution that profits from the secrecy, as well as the efforts that it makes to shield its reputation from public scrutiny.
While Boston University has finally done the right thing, the university continues to wish to prevent this tale, which has been so distressing for both students and staff in the biology department at Boston University, from becoming known to a larger public. This desire extends even within the biology department and the university itself. This cannot be tolerated. I would like to extend an invitation to anyone who is interested in getting in touch with me regarding this matter to leave a comment either here or in my direct messages.
Sexual Harassment Allegations Against UI Wildlife Professor Max Allen and Adrien Finzi’s Friend
As a journalist, one of the responsibilities that I find the least enjoyable is when individuals who have survived sexual harassment, bullying, or other forms of abuse get in touch with me and ask for assistance in bringing an abuser to justice.
This #MeToo reporting has been going on for eight years now, beginning when I was still a correspondent for Science, continuing for The Verge and Scientific American, and now as an independent journalist.
I began doing this reporting when I was still working for Science. Throughout that time period, I have conducted investigations into dozens of cases, some of which have led to the perpetrators being fired or being forced to leave their positions. Numerous others have received a great deal of attention.
The ecologist Walter Jetz at Yale, whose toxic lab has become notorious among researchers in his field, and Adrien Finzi, a biologist at Boston University, whom Boston University finally forced to resign after nearly two decades of abuses, including physically threatening other faculty members and bullying students, are two examples of the investigations that I have already reported on this year.
A source at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reached out to me a few months ago to enquire about the possibility of investigating charges of sexual harassment, stalking, and bullying that were made against Max Allen, a carnivore ecologist attending the university. In addition to his work with the Illinois Natural History Survey, Allen is linked with the Nature Resources and Environmental Sciences department at the University of Illinois.
Allen’s behaviour has been the subject of discussions between the source and other students as well as faculty members. Nevertheless, the university had not taken any significant action against him, despite the fact that at least two Title IX complaints had been filed against him.
The individual who provided me with the information put me in touch with survivors of the atrocities, who in turn put me in touch with more witnesses. In the end, I was able to speak with several people who had been affected by the alleged misbehaviour, as well as other individuals who had either observed the episodes or been informed about them at the same time by the victims.
During this interim period, I submitted requests under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act to the university. The institution eventually furnished me with evidence of two of the Title IX complaints that I had requested. The information included in these documents was completely in line with the accounts that I had been provided by the informants.
At the request of two of the individuals who survived the abuse, I was granted permission to discuss the specifics of their experiences, provided that their identities were not mentioned. The purpose of this request for anonymity is to protect their privacy and shield them from immediate retaliation, as well as to shield them from any bad implications on their careers in the future. In spite of this, I have authenticated their identities as well as the specifics of the experiences that they shared with me.
It was requested by a few other witnesses that I be more circumspect when recounting what occurred to them. These witnesses considered themselves to be more susceptible if identifying details were revealed.
I will refer to the first two witnesses as Alice and Jill, but I will use pseudonyms for them so that the narrative may flow more smoothly.
This is the narrative of Alice: “Let’s go for a walk.”
She developed a love for wildlife, particularly small mammals, while she was growing up in the Midwest, where she was born and raised. She came to the University of Illinois in the fall of 2021 to pursue a master’s degree after working at a position in her home state that gave her the opportunity to pursue these interests with the freedom to do so. Attending speaker events was something that she did, much like many other students in her department, and afterwards, she would go out for food or drinks with the speaker and along with other colleagues. After one of these gatherings, she discovered Allen sitting at the table next to her. This was the moment when she first met him.
In the beginning, everything appeared to be extremely professional. Alice received an offer from Allen to assist her with a variety of parts of her research and study. The following day, however, she started receiving emails from Allen, who expressed his desire for her to accompany him on a number of different field trips. He inquired, “When would you be available to meet with me?” He went so far as to urge that Alice come to his office so that she may work on a note about natural history. Following her consultation with friends and members of the department’s faculty, Alice was advised to exercise caution.
On the other hand, Allen continued to send her emails, and he also asked for her phone number. Despite the fact that she was beginning to experience an increasing level of unease, Alice rebuffed his invitations to get together, including one that suggested they go for a stroll through the woods. At long last, he communicated with her by email, with the words, “I really want to see you again.” Something like that was a “huge red flag” for Alice.
“How deeply personal it was. I was certainly taken aback by the shock. I was informed by her that it was a really unacceptable behaviour. She started to talk more about what was going on with other students, despite the fact that she did not have faith in the university’s reporting processes or the faculty to assist her. While this was going on, she made it clear to Allen that she did not enjoy the fact that he was mixing personal and business relationships. She continued to hold out hope that the matter might be resolved without being detrimental to a faculty member who played an important role in her area of expertise.
According to Alice, Allen expressed his regret. What he wrote was, “I am so sorry.” “I am so shocked and ashamed.” Despite this, he continued to recommend that they go for a stroll.
“It really sent shivers down my spine,” Alice added. My perception of the academic world was altered as a result.
After that, Max retreated and stopped bothering Alice in any further manner. On the other hand, Allen, Alice, and a number of other students from the institution went to the Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, in February of 2022. This conference was held annually.
Alice quickly learned that Allen had signed up to be a mentor at the conference. Allen ended up being assigned to a student who was also from the Midwest, and it turned out that the student was Jill. In spite of the fact that Alice “completely avoided” Allen at this meeting, she received a message from him asking her if she would be interested in having supper with him on the way to the conference. She chose not to accept the invitation.
With that being said, Jill started hanging out with the students from Illinois while the meeting was in progress. It was at one occasion that she approached Alice and stated, “I am aware of your relationship with Max.” It was revealed that Allen had disclosed to Jill that he and Alice had been involved in a romantic connection of some type.
Alice confided in me, “It was a frightening experience.” Additionally, two other students who have been in conversation with me for the purpose of this report were there during these incidents.
Let’s give Jill the opportunity to tell her own story at this point.
Stories from Jill: a “mentor” who focused solely on women and did not discuss scientific topics.
Jill was receiving her education at a modest university located in the Midwest, where she was pursuing a degree in conservation biology. She was nearing the end of her graduate degree and was prepared to start looking for work, but she required guidance regarding the next step she should take in her professional life. It was the first time that she had ever given at a conference, and the organisers of the meeting in Des Moines approved her abstract to deliver a presentation regarding the topic. Due to the fact that she was hoping to meet other scientists and engage in the typical networking that young researchers are required to do, it was a significant event, but it was also rather stressful.
As a result, she enrolled in the mentorship programme that was made available by the gathering, and she was paired with Max Allen. To “calm my nerves” before giving her presentation on the second day of the meeting, she was drinking a beer. She was getting ready to give her presentation. When Allen arrived, she made it clear that she was feeling anxious. Rather than responding, Allen reportedly looked at a woman who was hanging over a balcony immediately above him and inquired, “Does she have a wedding ring?” Jill recalls that Allen did not respond.
Jill would meet with Allen on a daily basis in the hopes of receiving career guidance. On the other hand, he focused primarily on the dating app that he was utilising and the sorts of results that he was obtaining from it. According to Allen, the women in Iowa are not as “hot” as those in Illinois. Jill was informed of this by Allen.
Jill informed me, “I made an effort to be appropriate.” However, even when they were not in conversation with one another, “he was following me everywhere.” Jill was informed by Allen that he had attempted to make a romantic relationship with Alice at one point. Allen expressed his belief that she despises him.
Jill was in a state of acute distress. When she called a wildlife enthusiast she knew back in her hometown, she broke down in tears as she explained what was going on. The friend sent out a series of Tweets to inform those who were present at the meeting about the situation, which garnered a great deal of attention from those who were attending the conference. Here are two of them; I have removed the name of this courageous ally in order to preserve her privacy, despite the fact that she made no bones about actively attempting to protect Jill at the time.
At this point, the students from the University of Illinois established a loosely organised protection team and started escorting Jill wherever she went, including to the lavatory, so that she could successfully evade Allen whenever it was necessary. Despite this, she was still under the impression that she needed to meet with him, and she was concerned about the outcomes of her professional life if she rejected him before the meeting was completed. Allen persisted in his never-ending babbling about several more women. He said to Jill that he desired to relocate “out west” to a lake house which he owned so that he might meet people in that location.
Jill has shared with me that she has never received a single piece of advise from him. “But I didn’t tell anyone,” she said, including her pals who were present at the meeting. “I felt embarrassed. This was a traumatic affair. I did not believe that I could go to the people who were organising the meeting because I was afraid that they would not believe her or that they would align themselves with Allen.
Allen attempted to get in touch with her by sending her three or four texts after the conference was ended and she had returned home, but she did not respond to any of his messages. At long last, it finished.
“He is not in good health,” Jill stated. He has lost touch with reality, whether it be in terms of what is acceptable or what is not acceptable. He has absolutely no regard for females. This man should not be in the presence of any woman.
Although Title IX lawsuits have been brought against Max Allen, the university has not taken any significant action.
During the course of this research, I had conversations with other students who had attended the conference in Des Moines and who were either present at the time of the incidents or who had been told about them by the victims. These students spoke to me both at Illinois and at the Des Moines meeting. Eventually, a few members of the faculty were made aware of the situation that was taking on.
Among them were the chairs of the two departments that Allen was affiliated with, namely Eric Schauber, the director of the Illinois Natural History Survey, and Robert Schooley, the head of the department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. Additionally, T.J. Benson, Joy O’Keefe, and Michael Ward, all of whom were faculty members in the Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences department, were also featured. (I have been informed that Schauber is Allen’s supervisor who is the most forthright.”
Also, according to the sources, some of the faculty members mentioned above had become aware that Allen had also harassed at least one and possibly more undergraduate women whom he had come into contact with in the university’s undergrad wildlife society. Additionally, there were instances of bullying students, including one graduate student whose career was severely impacted by the abuse (in order to protect the identity of this student, I will not tell her story in any detail).
Schauber and Schooley, in their capacity as Title IX mandatory reporters, lodged a complaint against Allen with the university on March 12, 2022. The complaint was regarding the alleged harassment of Alice, as well as the events that occurred regarding Jill during the Iowa conference. A second Title IX petition was submitted on March 14, and this time it was submitted by Schauber, Schooley, and Benson.
The university made the decision to have a “Educational Conversation” with Allen on June 23, as stated in the Title IX records. This decision was made after the institution conducted a rather superficial investigation. After that, the investigation was concluded. On the other hand, the case was reopened on July 15, 2022, to incorporate new information. This new material included the testimony of a student who had been a witness to the events that took place in Iowa and Illinois.
Within the framework of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, the institution did not make any additional records available to me, and I have not yet filed an appeal over that decision. All signs, however, point to the fact that the institution did not inform any of the students about any activities that it did take about the situation.
Both Schauber and Schooley declined to comment on the events that took place, stating in nearly identical language that they were unable to “express their opinions on matters about personnel.” There were multiple requests for comment made to Benson, but he did not answer.
As I have stated on numerous occasions in the past, they are not really “personnel matters,” which is a term that gives the impression that they solely pertain to the strong and typically male individuals who are responsible for instances of abuse. The victims and survivors, as well as current students who might be required to work with the abusers, and future students, who are likely to become future victims because they are unaware of the behaviour of professors they may choose to work with due to the institution’s efforts to maintain complete confidentiality, are the targets of these incidents.
It would appear that the primary interest of universities and other institutions is, consistently, to defend their institutional reputations, rather than to protect students and other colleagues who are vulnerable. This has been the case with almost every case that I have worked on, with just a few exceptions. Those exceptions typically occur only after the institution in issue realises that all of its efforts to keep a case from getting public have been unsuccessful.
At the end of the day, the institutions that were engaged lose their integrity, their reputations, and the faith of students who believed that they would be protected while they attempt to progress their academic careers.
