An Oxford don quit after a report found that he had ‘made unwanted advances’ towards a vulnerable female academic.
The woman had gone to Said Business School dean Professor Soumitra Dutta, 62, to ask for help after she had accused another male colleague of raping her.
But sources told The Times married Prof Dutta allegedly asked her in a meeting if anything could happen between them as ‘I feel very attracted to you’.
He denied ever making the comment, but it was one of three complaints of harassment upheld against the university don, with a fourth partially upheld following a five-month internal inquiry.
Prof Dutta, who described his time at Oxford as the ‘greatest privilege of my life’, took medical leave in May.
His departure after three years as dean was announced on September 10, a month after he informed Oxford that he was leaving.
An email sent to staff confirming he had left thanked Prof Dutta for his ‘contributions to the school’ over the last three years, reported Bloomberg.
He is now living in the United States with his wife where he is President at the Portulans Institute, according to his LinkedIn.
Oxford don Professor Soumitra Dutta, 62, quit after a report found that he had ‘made unwanted advances’ towards a vulnerable female academic
Professor Dutta is pictured here in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2018 where took part in a seminar in ‘Innovation, the industry of the future’
In a response via his lawyer, Prof Dutta said the allegations arose ‘in the context of an ongoing job dispute at the university, but said it would not be appropriate to comment further’.
‘I take all allegations of harassment extremely seriously and throughout the investigation process, I consistently affirmed my commitment to the expectations of the University in its harassment policy,’ he said.
‘I deeply regret causing any distress or offence by anything I said, and it was never my intention to be anything other than supportive of my former colleague.’
The female academic had gone to Prof Dutta to ask if he could restrict a male colleague’s access to the business school after she had accused him of raping her.
The Times reported that police interviewed the man but did not press any charges. The woman is said to be seeking a judicial review.
A university spokesman said: ‘Professor Soumitra Dutta has stepped down as dean of Said Business School and has now left the university. Professor Mette Morsing, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, took up the role of interim dean on September 22.’
Pro Dutta was part of then President Barack Obama’s roundtable at the White House in 2014 where he joined fellow business school deans to discuss effective workforce policies.
