Weeks after appointing economics Professor Roland G. Fryer, Jr. who is accused in a Title IX complaint to its executive committee, the American Economic Association has issued a statement denying knowledge of investigation against him.
The association has said that it didn’t know about the allegations against Fryer at the time of nomination.
Fryer is being investigated by the state of Massachusetts and Harvard in two Title IX complaints with allegations of gender and sexual harassment. The university even barred him from the lab which he founded in 2008.
The association in the statement has said that it would wait for the conclusion of the investigation and further streamline its process of nomination.
“We take such allegations seriously, but they are, at this point, just allegations. While the home institution will neither deny nor confirm the existence of an investigation, we understand that one is underway, and may come to some conclusions in the not too distant future. We have decided that, before proceeding further, we should wait for those conclusions, if they are made public and they come within a reasonable amount of time. If not, we shall reexamine our position,” reads the statement.
“In the future, we shall ask potential nominees if they are the subject of an investigation. This will help avoid such situations going forward.” Meanwhile, Fryer who is the winner of MacArthur “genius” grant in 2011 has long been denying the allegations leveled against him.
“Let me state unequivocally that I have not—and would not—engage in any discrimination or harassment of any form,” Fryer said in the statement.
“Any claim to the contrary is patently false.”
