Avital Ronell Takes Leave of Absence from NYU, Will Return in Fall
Despite the controversy surrounding an ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit, Ronell is in Europe on a fellowship.
Controversial professor Avital Ronell is taking a leave of absence for Monaco, Paris, and Vienna for the Spring 2020 semester after being awarded a yearlong grant and residency. She will return to teaching at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in the fall, despite ongoing criticism from student groups over a Title IX investigation that found her responsible of sexual harassment.
“The distinction was awarded to me by the Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco, a contemporary aggregate of distinguished philosophers from France, Monaco, the US,” Ronell said in an email to Local. “I received a year-long grant and residency to finish a book, deliver a number of lectures, serve on panel discussions address media and local outlets, offer poetry readings at hospitals,” Ronell continued. She added that she will be talking about her work at the Collège International de Philosophie in late March.
In August of 2018, The New York Times reported that an 11-month Title IX investigation conducted by NYU found Ronell responsible for both verbal and physical harassment towards former graduate student Nimrod Reitman. A group of scholars from around the world came to her defense in a letter published on a philosophy blog, citing her “grace” and “keen wit.” Reitman and Ronell are currently in the middle of a lawsuit that started in Aug. 2018, with a possible resolution coming no earlier than June 2020.
“These distortions and falsified assertions are heartbreaking and simply wrong. I look forward to the time when I can defend myself,” Ronell told Local. “In the meantime, these stand as allegations without proof; I was never accorded due process.”
Despite the controversy, Ronell returned to NYU last fall, teaching a class on counter-memory, justice, and theories of dispute. In response, NYU’s Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC), drafted and circulated a petition last September arguing that Ronell’s “well-documented emotionally manipulative and sexually harassing behavior” was a threat to future NYU students and staff.
Throughout the fall, the group, along with the #NYUToo movement, were seen protesting outside of Bobst. #NYUToo posted a video on their Twitter showing students confronting Ronell; she denied any allegations and was escorted away by an NYU security guard.
GSOC steward Zach Rivers said that while GSOC is “relieved” that Ronell will not be on campus this semester, the reason for her absence is part of GSOC’s continuing battle with the university.
“We maintain that NYU’s decision to continue Prof. Ronell’s employment after being found guilty of verbal and physical sexual harassment shatters any illusion that NYU’s administration commitment to student well-being is sincere,” Rivers said. He added that NYU is complacent in “reproducing the structures that produce and enable harassment and exclusion.”
Phillip Brian Harper, the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, confirmed that Ronell’s leave of absence had nothing to with the Title IX case or lawsuit: “This is a completely typical occurrence for faculty members: they occasionally receive fellowships that relieve them from teaching responsibilities and thus free them up to pursue research.”
Both Harper and Ronell confirmed to Local that Ronell will be teaching again in fall 2020.
“Regarding next Fall, I am looking at my options,” Ronell said, “I am not one to give up or shred my rights, cede to virulent and unjust attack.”
Additional reporting by Nina Schifano.
