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Re item 2: the student in question was interested in science communication, and on dozens of occasions came to me or wrote to me with questions. When she asked about advice for after graduation | DID tell her she was different than the other students in her year. The rest of them were interested in going on to graduate school, but she was interested in science communication so | told her that she might want to take a different path. Since she was the only woman in her year, as | recall, | did ask her on one of these occasions if that made it difficult for her in any way. | asked, because as a faculty member | was interested, and also because as someone she had asked for career advice from | wanted to know if that made a difference to her. Re asking her for dinner.. | have gone back over emails from that period. | have numerous requests from her to go for coffee to talk, which | usually had to turn down because | was busy, including several occasions where she asked me to have coffee with her off campus to talk, and | politely declined. | did let her accompany me off campus one time to watch me do a BBC interview because she specifically requested it. | did and do have coffee and meals with students on campus, and | see nothing wrong with this. | was shocked when | later learned of her complaint, not least because there was no inappropriate interaction and also because well after the date on which she is said to have been offended, she continued to email me with joking questions or comments, and at a AAAS conference in 2008, for which she had asked, and for which | had written her a letter of recommendation to attend, my wife and | gave her a lift well out out of our way to drop her off at her hotel, and | note in an email response to her email about the conference, agin in 2008, | expressed that | would pass her regards along to my wife and vice versa. When the University informed me of the complaint | was shocked and concerned. When | spoke to the human resources person, including relating my concerns and providing the emails in question, | was told that no formal complaint of sexual harassment was deemed to be warranted in this case, and that the young woman in question had agreed to that. By that time | learned of the complaint | had already announced my intentions to leave Case to accept an offer at ASU—a very difficult decision for me because of my long-standing attachment to the University, and the excellent relations | had with my colleagues there, both among the faculty and among the administration. Because | was already in Arizona at the time | was asked not to have any further interaction with the student | agreed to that request because it was basically moot. | was also told that because it was being handled informally, that (a) it should remain confidential, which |, at least abided by, and (b) if no further complaints were lodged in that case, that the University would remove the allegation from my record after 5 years, which makes me surprised that someone violated that written agreement with you. Re item 6: You report on ASU’s response to item #6 , without including the fact that the University specifically stated there were never any allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment by me at the University, and the outside complaints were in fact related specifically to your item #6. Further you neglect to mention that this complaint was by an anonymous third party, not the individual who was allegedly harassed, who never lodged a complain, and that no specific evidence was provided of the alleged transgression. | was surprised and dismayed that both ASU and ANU launched investigations on the basis of this but was told by both Universities that because of my high profile even such unsubstantiated third party complaints at private events unrelated to the University would be investigated. The complaint was investigated throughly by both ASU and ANU and both came to the conclusion that it was not credible and no university policies had been violated. . In addition ANU’s investigation, which took a full month found significant inconsistencies in the allegation, suggesting distortion and fabrication, | will quote from the ANU report. The initial complaint, which in fact resulted in a temporary suspension by ANU outlined the claim you made in the words you quoted in your note to me, along with the statement made in the complaint that "It is the University’s understanding that a complaint was lodged directly to the conference organisers at the time of the incident.” After the investigation, the final report absolved me of any wrongdoing, and indicated information inconsistent with the original claim and apparent later claims as follows: "The allegations were made by an observer to the incident. - The complaint did not identify, nor disclose the identity of the conference attendee who was allegedly touched in an unwelcome manner. - The conference attendee who took the ‘selfie’ photo did not lodge a formal complaint to the conference organisers at the time of the incident (November 2016). - The conference attendee who witnessed the incident, did not lodge a formal complaint to the conference organisers at the time of the incident (November 2016). The photo submitted as part of the complaint does not provide evidence of any physical contact. - The complainant alleged that a photo exists, showing your hand on the breast of the conference attendee who took the ‘selfie’ photo. This photo was not made available to the Australian National University, although it was requested in the course of the investigation.” (And for the record | often put my hand up in front of a camera if there is a flash, as | specifically request selfies not to include flashes, so that | don’t end up with a series bright spots in front of my eyes for the next half hour) What makes this particular type of allegation so repugnant is that | get asked for literally thousands of selfies, and when people come up to me they are vulnerable, often shaking, and sometimes overly aggressive. | am particularly proud of the way | attempt to make all people feel at ease, and respected, rather than humiliated. Thus, this false claim strikes at the heart of what | am about, which is to acknowledge fans in a way that makes them feel appreciated. As | understand you had a reporter watching me sign books and take selfies at the CFl conference in Las Vegas this year, that behavior is what they will have witnessed. Moreover, | am proud of the interactions | have had at both Case and ASU, with students, colleagues and staff. | have had numerous female graduate students, postdocs, employees, and colleagues, and as ASU attested to you, none of these have ever complained of harassment. Quite the contrary in fact, as | have worked hard to support them, mentor them, and treat them with respect. | treat others as responsible adults, and | expect to be treated equally. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021419