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Records offer scathing review of UT professor now under abuse investigation

Allegations emerged this summer about Henri Grissino-Mayer's conduct. As more information emerged, UT officials decided he needed to leave quickly, records show.

Knoxville — A University of Tennessee professor recognized internationally for his expertise in tree-ring research has abruptly resigned amid an investigation into allegations he acted inappropriately with students, perhaps even sexually, and abused his authority in order to wield power over them, records show.

University officials debated whether Henri Grissino-Mayer, former director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Science in the Department of Geography, should even have been allowed to quit, according to documents.

"Because Dr. Grissino-Mayer's conduct has been so egregious, many of us have struggled with whether the University should accept his resignation," a Sept. 25 letter from Provost David Manderscheid to Theresa Lee, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, states.

"After careful review of the competing concerns, I concluded that the most compelling interests are those of his current and former students."

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To help students cope, the university has offered counseling. Locks have been changed at the tree-ring center so students "can continue their work without threat of interruption by Dr. Grissino-Mayer," a document states.

Besides being recognized for his tree-ring research, Grissino-Mayer also gained attention as an expert who had predicted the potential devastation of wildfires in Sevier County. In November 2016, wildfires destroyed or damaged more than 2,500 buildings and led to the deaths of 14 people.

This month, university officials told him his resignation would be identified as a "resignation in lieu of termination," according to a Sept. 7 letter from the provost.

He was told to come clean out his office and that he couldn't claim any ongoing affiliation with UT going forward. He also was ordered to stay away from former students and colleagues.

Questions have been raised in the past about Grissino-Mayer's conduct.

The current investigation began after someone came forward this summer to report "recent misconduct," records show. It was referred Aug. 7 to the university's' Office of Equity and Diversity.

Within a day, OED director Jenny Richter got a "packet" of reports detailing other incidents of alleged misconduct by the professor "that can be generally described as past inappropriate conduct with students, some of which was sexual in nature, but all of which reflects of Grissino-Mayer's position and power..." the Sept. 25 letter states.

Reports submitted so far to the OED "describe a pattern of manipulation and mistreatment of students, possible misuse of University resources, and certainly risks of further harm to current students, former students, colleagues and collaborators, and reputational harm to all of us, the Manderscheid letter of Sept. 25 states.

The professor first was put on paid administrative leave Aug. 8. He happened to be on a field trip at the time with students.

He met two days later with several university administrators including Geography Department chief Ron Kalafsky. Manderscheid wrote that the professor made a surprising admission during the meeting.

"As I understand it, and to your collective surprise, Dr. Grissino-Mayer admitted not only violating the university's policy, but also admitted that he knew he was violating the policy at the time of his misconduct," the letter states.

He offered to begin winding down his research and projects on campus over a three-year period.

It became apparent, documents show, that that wasn't going to be an option.

Grissino-Mayer submitted his letter Aug. 31 to Kalafsky.

"It is with deep sadness that I write this letter to inform you that I have made the difficult decision to tender my resignation from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Department of Geography effective Oct. 1, 2018," his departure letter states.

The professor said "many factors" prompted the decision. He said he'd consulted his family in Knoxville including his wife "and especially my parents and family in my hometown in Athens, Georgia."

The Office of Equity and Diversity's investigation is ongoing, records show.

The tree-ring laboratory's website is now down, featuring a message that says it's temporarily "offline for maintenance." UT decided to take it down, along with other sites linking to the professor's work, to check whether any students are identified whose privacy could be violated.

In the early 2010s, a UT student published stories complaining about Grissino-Mayer's conduct including that the professor had had an affair with his wife, who was a student.

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