USC protected professor repeatedly accused of sexual harassment, lawsuit alleges

The University of South Carolina failed to protect students and faculty from a professor repeatedly accused of sexual misconduct, two new lawsuits allege.

David Voros, a professor of studio art, previously was sued by a former student alleging he made unwanted sexual advances on her and forced her to do manual labor during a study trip to Italy.

The new allegations — filed by Voros’ former coworker Jaime Misenheimer and Pamela Bowers, Voros’ ex-wife who also worked as a professor in the School of Visual Art and Design — had not been available publicly until the suits were filed.

Misenheimer and Bowers, who reference each other in their suits and filed them on the same day last week, allege Voros sexually harassed them and others at USC and retaliated against them for reporting it. The suits name USC as a defendant and accuse the university of not adequately responding to their complaints and preventing further misconduct from Voros.

“We’re extremely disappointed with how the university has handled these cases,” said Elizabeth Bowen, one of the attorneys representing both women in their separate suits. “The university is on notice about the concerns and complaints about Voros that have been submitted.”

Bowers and Misenheimer are represented by Bowen and Samantha Albrecht from Chromer, Babb, Porter & Hicks, LLC.

Asked for comment Wednesday morning, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said, “We have not yet been served in this case, but we don’t typically comment on pending or active lawsuits.”

The State has reached out to Voros for comment.

Misenheimer’s allegations

In 2016, Voros asked Misenheimer to retaliate against a student by giving her a bad grade after the student filed a sexual harassment complaint against Voros following a visit to Italy, according to the lawsuit. The suit does not name the student.

Misenheimer considered reporting her concerns about Voros to Peter Chametzky, then-chair of the School of Visual Arts and Design. But she didn’t because a student had said that when she brought a complaint to the office, it was dismissed, with a top official telling the student to “think of the guy,” according to the suit.

The student’s complaint, described briefly in the lawsuit, alleges Voros traded “employment benefits to female faculty and/or graduate students for sexual favors.”

Misenheimer said “multiple students” in spring 2017 told her they were not comfortable being around Voros, nor with a student referred to only as J.T. who was accused of sexually assaulting a model.

In February 2017, Misenheimer said Voros lured her into a dark closet in the visual arts building, put his arm around her and, put plastic head in front of her face and whispered into her ear to look out a small window in the closet, according to the complaint. Misenheimer said she thought Voros was making a sexual advance on her.

Misenheimer reported the incident to Chametzky. She alleges Voros retaliated against her by giving her poor performance reviews and blocking her from teaching classes.

Chametzky encouraged Misenheimer to report the issues to the Equal Opportunity Programs office, but Misenheimer said she was uncomfortable doing that, so Chametzky took no further action, the suit says.

Misenheimer and students felt so threatened they asked USC’s police department to patrol the hallways where they worked, the suit said. The police refused to patrol the hallway because there had not been a crime committed, according to the suit.

Misenheimer filed an official complaint on behalf of a graduate student in April 2017, to which Voros responded by entering Misenheimer’s room while she was teaching and intimidating her, the suit says. That violated an official no-contact order issued to Voros by the office of Equal Opportunity Programs after Misenheimer filed her complaint, the suit says.

When the School of Visual Arts and Design received a new chair, Laura Kissel, Misenheimer complained to her, and Kissel assured Misenheimer she would not be working directly with Voros, the suit says.

When Misenheimer complained that she still saw Voros on campus and asked Kissel for help, Kissel allegedly told Misenheimer — who is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — to “place crystals on her desk to make her feel safe,” the suit alleges.

In fall 2018, after Voros had already been sued for sexual harassment allegations, he replaced female instructors with less-qualified male instructors, according to the suit.

In one instance, Voros reassigned a class taught by a female professor to J.T., the student who was accused of sexually assaulting a model.

In May 2019, Misenheimer resigned her job at USC, according to the suit. Voros is still listed as a member of USC’s faculty on the school’s website.

Bowers’ allegations

Voros and Bowers separated in 2016, partially because while they were married, Voros had “one or more” sexual relationships with students or former students, according to Bowers’ suit. After the separation, Voros made “unwelcome physical and sexual advances” to Bowers while she was in her campus office, according to the lawsuit.

Bowers also complained to Chametzky, then-chair of the School of Visual Art and Design, who failed to respond to complaints of sexual harassment against Voros, a tenured professor, the suit said. After Bowers filed complaints against Voros, Chametzky “unexpectedly” visited Bowers at her USC office and threatened her job “and the future of her position with the university,” according to Bowers’ suit.

In 2019, Bowers also met with police and asked, unsuccessfully, for their help. That year she filed a police report with USC that said Voros broke into her social media account, the suit says.

As USC failed to respond to sexual harassment complaints against Voros, he grew emboldened and increased his attacks on Bowers, her suit alleges.

The escalation included Voros taunting Bowers about “sexual abuse she experienced as a young woman and called (Bowers) derogatory names, such as a ’damaged woman’ and accused (Bowers) of ‘gleefully slutting around,’” according to the suit.

Voros is also accused of using sexist slurs toward other female faculty, Bowers’ suit alleges.

After Bowers began complaining, Voros would stand in Bowers’ doorway while she was teaching class to intimidate her, the suit says.

In January 2018, Voros allegedly went to Bowers’ office and attempted to hug and grope her, the suit says. She asked him to leave and he did, but later that day Voros — who had access to Bowers’ schedule — was waiting at her at her car.

Once Kissel took over, Bowers also complained to her about Voros’ alleged harassment, but “Kissel attempted to shift the blame for Voros’ conduct and the burden of fixing it on (Bowers).”

In 2018, Bowers reported Voros to USC’s human resources office, which encouraged her to file a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Programs office. Bowers did not want to do that because she said Voros would be notified and she feared further retaliation, the suit alleges.

In spring 2019, Bowers eventually filed a report with the Equal Opportunity Programs office, the suit says. There, she met with Susan Bonn, one of President Robert Caslen’s advisors.

“Bonn asked (Bowers) to sign a document stating that what Plaintiff had been experiencing was not sexual assault,” the lawsuit says.

This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 5:44 PM.