Tufts Prof Demanded Booty in Exchange for Job, Suit Alleges

Stop reading if this shocks you, but according to a new lawsuit filed in Middlesex Superior Court, some college professors totally exploit their researchers! Tufts chemistry prof Samuel Kounaves demanded sexual favors in exchange for job security and career advancement, according to a lawsuit filed by Suzanne Young, a former researcher in his lab. Kounaves and his lawyer deny any wrongdoing.

According to the Globe, the lawsuit alleges, among other things, that "Kounaves insisted [Young] live with him whenever they were at the science team’s headquarters in Tucson and threatened to deny her lodging reimbursement when she refused." Creepy! Kounaves also allegedly had a thing about getting tangled up in Young's hair.

When Young complained to Tufts about Kounaves's behavior, the university denied that he had violated its policies, and Young's grant-funded job magically disappeared. We guess Tufts is more indulgent with its professors' peccadillos than it is with its students'.

Cases like this, where a credentialed researcher is literally (allegedly) exploited by her employer, are little more than a metonym for the experience of the contemporary Ph.D. Not to understate the pervy nastiness of the alleged sexual harassment in this case, but young Ph.D.s are overwhelmingly at the beck and call of creepy old dudes, regardless of whether there's sex involved. Do you still want to go to grad school? Just don't.