Göttingen, 8 July 2025
The Göttingen professor of forestry who sexually harassed students for years is allowed to remain at the university. The Higher Administrative Court has upheld the 2023 ruling of the Göttingen Administrative Court: although inappropriate behaviour was found in 44 cases, including 6 cases of sexual harassment, the professor will not be dismissed and will only receive a €2,000 pay cut.
The university had appealed against the ruling but failed.
Back in 2023, the AStA had already scandalised the university’s inconsistent approach: the university had refrained from issuing a warning, but then got upset about the court’s lenient ruling. For years, the professor was able to abuse his position of power and sexually harass students.
The current AStA agrees with the criticism: “The University of Göttingen is still not a safe space for everyone”, says AStA spokesperson for gender and diversity Jordis Niemeyer, “Sexual harassment and violence are still commonplace. The hierarchical structures within academic institutions are a gateway for abuse of power and a feeding ground for perpetrators. No matter how indignant the university claims to be, it is still not doing nearly enough to protect students from such assaults.”
Just last Wednesday, 25 June, the AStA, as part of the “Studis Setzen Grenzen” (Students Set Limits) alliance, organised a day of action to draw attention to sexualised violence at colleges and universities, where the above-mentioned ruling was also discussed. Because these acts are not isolated cases: “There are more than a few professors and lecturers who are notorious for behaving inappropriately towards students. But the culture of silence and impunity that the justice system and universities – including Göttingen – maintain with regard to these incidents ensures that those affected are afraid to talk about their experiences”, says Jordis Niemeyer. “These institutions are passively and actively protecting perpetrators. This must be acknowledged”.
It is still unclear whether the professor will be allowed to return to campus and resume teaching. The university will “not comment” on the details of how it will proceed. This lack of transparency regarding the measures taken, in addition to the lenient court ruling, is a slap in the face for those affected. “The least the university can do, after failing to adequately protect students from sexual assault for years, is not to remain silent about how it will proceed”, says Lukas Bischoff, AStA culture officer. “The ruling was handed down a week ago, and the only public response from the university has been two sentences in the Göttinger Tageblatt newspaper”.
‘Even if the university considers all legal avenues to have been exhausted, it owes it to all past and potential future victims not to sit idly by, but to do everything in its power to prevent this professor from assaulting students again and getting away with it,’ said AStA chairman Jonas Stribrny.
The AStA firmly rejects the court’s ruling and calls on the university to take the failure of the appeal to heart: ‘Those responsible should reflect on how to ensure that abusive professors and lecturers face the consequences of their actions in the future,’ says Jordis Niemeyer, ‘Otherwise, we will take it upon ourselves to do so.’