Nobel laureate accused of harassment by former students: report

A Nobel laureate is facing accusations of sexual harassment, with the university where he serves as a professor reportedly opening an inquiry.

Philip Dybvig, who has worked as a banking and finance professor at Washington University in St. Louis for more than 30 years, has been accused of sexual harassment by more than half a dozen former students, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

The outlet said it spoke with seven former students who have accused the professor of harassment, including unwelcome touching and kissing. Dybvig’s lawyer said the professor has denied any inappropriate contact with students.

Washington University in St. Louis has opened an inquiry amid the allegations, Bloomberg reported, with its Title IX office, which handles sexual harassment complaints, questioning Dybvig.

The inquiry reportedly stems from claims made by one former student, though Bloomberg said the office has reached out to at least three former students to ask about similar claims.

All of the students Bloomberg spoke with were international students and none filed a formal complaint to the Title IX office, the outlet noted.

The Hill has reached out to Dybvig and Washington University in St. Louis for comment.

Dybvig, 67, won the Nobel Prize in economics this year alongside Douglas Diamond, a University of Chicago professor, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

His time at the private St. Louis research university stretches back to the late 1980s, and he has taught at several other universities based in the U.S. and in China.

Allegations of inappropriate conduct made by two anonymous Chinese women were reported by the university’s independent student-run newspaper in November, following an anonymous online post on the social media platform WeChat.

One woman said Dybvig sent her a Facebook message claiming he missed her smile and she alleged he also pulled her onto his lap for a photo at an event for new students in 2011.

Another told Bloomberg the professor would hold her hand for long periods of time while they were talking alone. And one woman said Dybvig kissed her neck without consent.

The allegations span at least a decade, with the most recent stemming from events this year.

“Professor Dybvig has been adamant about one thing,” Dybvig’s lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, told Bloomberg. “He takes his role as an educator very seriously. He feels that he has always had very appropriate and professional relationships with his students.”

Miltenberg suggested to the outlet that the timing of the allegations, which followed the Nobel Prize announcement, raised concerns that complaints were motivated by professional jealousy. 

Most of the women reached by the publication spoke anonymously, though Bloomberg reported that all accounts were corroborated by screenshots of messages with friends or interviews with people in whom the women had confided or, in one case, a witness to the alleged harassment.

Dybvig is on academic leave that was scheduled prior to the allegations appearing on social media in October.