Former Visiting Classics Scholar Accused of Sexual Misconduct

By Hannah Park and Ellie Ana Sperantsas

Content warning: details of sexual misconduct. If you or a loved one become distressed by any details, please seek confidential help at the National Sexual Assault Hotline: (800) 656-4673.

Former Visiting Classics Scholar and Princeton Professor Joshua Katz was recently accused of sexual and inappropriate personal misconduct with three female Princeton students. Principal William Rawson notified Academy community members in an all-employee and all-student email at 2:49 p.m. EST on Wednesday afternoon.

“Phillips Exeter Academy has received no reports of inappropriate behavior about Mr. Katz during his time visiting the Academy,” Rawson wrote. “He did live on campus for two weeks in 2011, one week in 2014 and two weeks in 2017 as a scholar in residence. Mr. Katz had no supervisory responsibilities, and his interactions with Exeter students and faculty were scheduled as group meetings and through public lectures.”

“If you are aware of any concerning behavior on the part of Mr. Katz, please be in touch with our director of student well-being, Christina Palmer, at cdpalmer@exeter.edu,” Rawson continued. The Daily Princetonian originally reported on Katz’s alleged misconduct. 

Katz joined Princeton’s faculty as a Classics professor in 1998 and received tenure in 2006. One female student alleged that Katz had engaged in misconduct with her in the mid-2000s. Years later, Katz took two consecutive leaves of absence from Princeton University from 2017 to 2019. During his sabbaticals, he was invited by the Academy’s Department of Classical Languages multiple times to live on campus while hosting seminars and lectures. He visited the Academy four times between 2010 and 2017, and was later invited to give a virtual presentation in 2020. 

Out of the three female students making allegations, two reported emotional misconduct and one reported sexual misconduct.

The sexual misconduct allegation came from a former female undergraduate student studying in the Classics department. Her allegations were corroborated by eight Princeton alumni, who stated that the woman's relationship to Katz seemed unprofessional in nature.

“[The student] said at the time that she felt like she was getting very emotionally attached to him … it seemed it was really weighing on her,” a close friend of the student said to The Daily Princetonian, recalling multiple instances of unconventional student-teacher behavior.

The summer after the student’s third year at Princeton, the student confided to her friends that the relationship had turned sexual.

Another female Princeton student, whom Katz met through his mentorship group, alleged that Katz had engaged in emotional misconduct by violating her personal boundaries.

While enrolled in one of his classes, the student received an email from him asking her out to a dinner during the exam period at an upscale restaurant that she “interpreted as a date.”

The second female student alleged that Katz had also made romantic advances towards her. The student recalls Katz repeatingly offering her unsolicited mentorship and attempting to befriend her with gifts and dinners at expensive restaurants, where he paid the bill. 

The student said this early relationship, which she described as “gaslighting,” put her in a “very difficult position” and caused her “considerable distress and anxiety.”

When she attempted to confront Katz about her discomfort with their relationship, he informed her that such relationships were normal during his time at Yale University. The Yale Handbook for Directors of Undergraduate Studies prohibits any “sexual or amorous relationship” between a teacher and undergraduate student.

The student recalled that “there was no quid pro quo, no attempt to proposition me, and no physical assault.” She said she felt “unsure” about what could be done due to the University's lack of institutional support.

The summer after the student graduated, she reported the incident to another professor. After multiple interviews about her experience, she followed up nine months later on the status of her complaint.

She was informed the case was “closed” and that a note had been placed on his file.

Katz later visited the Academy in 2011 as part of the Academy’s Visiting Scholar program. During his two weeks on campus, he gave eight lunch seminars and two public seminars. “So successful was [Katz’s] visit that the Department made the commitment to invite at least two classical scholars every year thereafter,” The Academy’s Visiting Scholar’s page previously stated. The website page has since been updated to exclude this statement. 

In 2020, Katz published an op-ed in the Quillette oppposing anti-racist reforms at Princeton proposed by Princeton faculty members. In particular, Katz spoke against a proposal which would establish “a committee composed entirely of faculty that would oversee the investigation and discipline of racist behaviors, incidents, research, and publication on the part of faculty,” cautioning that such a committee would stifle free speech and academic inquiry. In the same op-ed, he characterized the Black Justice League, a student-led activism group at Princeton which no longer exists, as a “terrorist organization.” 

Katz later published an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal entitled “I Survived Cancellation at Princeton.” In his op-ed, Katz refused to revoke his “blunt words” and expressed hope that his thoughts would “trigger a much-needed discussion.”

When contacted by The Daily Princetonian, Katz did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations. His attorney, former student Samatha Harris, declined to comment on the allegations.