USC settles sexual assault suit against professor for $150K, to implement Title IX changes
The University of South Carolina has settled a sexual harassment case against former history professor David Snyder for $150,000, and will be required to implement policies to prevent and address sexual misconduct.
“Surviving abuse can feel like a terrible secret,” former student Mary Elizabeth Johns, who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement. “Telling someone feels like it will be the scariest thing in the world. Please know that you are not alone. You deserve safety, community, and respect.”
Johns said she plans to advocate for women, students and building a safer community.
She alleged that Snyder groomed and subjected her to sexual advances from 2018 to 2020. He exploited her post-tramautic stress disorder that she developed after caring for family members who were suffering from cancer, according to the lawsuit.
“Snyder coaxed Johns to his house under the guise of being a mentor to talk about her grief,” the lawsuit said. “After multiple visits to Snyder’s house ... Snyder tried to touch and kiss [Johns].”
According to the lawsuit, Johns reported Snyder to a counselor associated with USC, but the counselor did not tell Johns about USC’s Title IX policy nor that Johns could file a complaint against Snyder.
In the lawsuit, Johns claims to have 184 “email strings,” some of which detail inappropriate comments.
Along with the settlement money, USC has agreed to implement policies aimed at preventing and addressing the abuse of power and sexual misconduct by faculty and staff. The policies include enhanced disciplinary measures for offending professors, enhanced training, clearer reporting procedures and stronger safeguards to ensure accountability in cases of abuse.
“Every student should feel empowered to pursue their education without fear of harm,” attorney S. Randall Hood said in a statement. “This case stands as a reminder that when universities fail to take the necessary steps to protect their students, those harmed have the right — and the ability — to hold institutions accountable.”
Snyder was removed from “all on-campus activities and responsibilities, including teaching and service as the Faculty Principal of Maxcy College,” a university spokesman said at the time, and was instructed to cease contact with students and not to return to campus without permission from his supervisor.
He is no longer employed by the university.
Snyder reached out to The State after this story’s initial publication, denying the allegations in the lawsuit.
“Her allegation was wholly false from the beginning,” Snyder wrote in an email. “Nobody, it seems, has ever very much been interested to know that.”
The policy changes promised in Johns’ settlement build on previous steps the university has taken to better protect its students and faculty, after 10 women between 2017 and 2021 alleged that USC failed to effectively respond to harassment complaints.
Following an investigation by The State in 2021, which examined those cases, the university’s former president, Robert Caslen, promised sweeping changes to they way it handled Title IX cases, which included establishing an independent Title IX coordinator and creating an office to respond to sexual misconduct allegations.
“USC made administrative changes to better ensure Title IX complaints are handled consistently and in a timely manner, with the goal of arriving at fair outcomes for all involved,” USC spokesman Jeff Stensland told The State on Thursday. “There’s nothing to add regarding the terms of the settlement.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 11:54 AM.
