“We need to be aware and take appropriate action”

ETH News: Joël Mesot, there has been very little communication about the conclusion of the disciplinary investigation. Why is that?
Joël Mesot: I appreciate that the public would like to know more details, but that’s not possible for legal reasons. The investigation is part of internal disciplinary proceedings against an individual, and the final report is not made public. It is our duty of care to protect everyone involved: those reporting the allegations and the person being accused.

Although the investigation clears the professor of allegations of sexual harassment, it concludes that he did not effectively separate his personal and professional relationships, and as a result his conduct was in breach of ETH Zurich’s Compliance Guide. What type of behaviour are we talking about here?
As I said, I’m unable to provide further details about the investigator’s report for legal reasons, but  professors have to be role models. And in my opinion that also involves making a clear distinction between one’s personal and professional relationships. I expect all members of our university community to be especially aware in this area. I do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour. For me, it’s not simply a question of adhering to a particular law or regulation – it’s also necessary to consider how other people experience your behaviour.

Even so, with the professor’s resignation and the conclusion of the investigation, hasn’t ETH missed the chance to fully clarify the case and draw lessons from it?
The investigation has been concluded, the case was fully clarified, and the final report submitted to me and the Executive Board. So, even with the professor leaving ETH Zurich, we can certainly learn the right lessons for the future from what’s happened.*

So what exactly would these lessons be?
It’s still too early to give specific details. First of all, we need to hold the relevant discussions at Executive Board level. It’s clear to me, however, that all members of the university – especially line managers and professors – must observe our compliance rules. These form the basis for us to work together successfully in a climate of mutual respect. It’s also become apparent that we need to embed these guidelines more robustly within ETH. One way of doing so, in my opinion, would be to provide mandatory leadership and professional development for our professors. On top of that, we need to be aware and take appropriate action if ETH Zurich members violate our compliance guidelines. Violations must have consequences. Another lesson we have learned, in my view, is that we need to improve the processes we have for dealing with reports of misconduct at ETH. We already took the first step last year by increasing the number of ombudspersons from two to three. But we also need to discuss entirely new approaches: for example, whether to set up an external, independent unit for reporting claims of sexual harassment, as other institutions have done.

That sounds as if some things have not gone smoothly in the past?
I’d like to stress that we are talking about a few isolated cases. Every day, several thousand people work together at the university, and the vast majority of them behave entirely appropriately and professionally. Otherwise ETH would not be so successful. But obviously every case of inappropriate behaviour is one too many and should be an incentive for us to review and improve the existing processes and regulations. I am convinced that a modern university at the top of the world rankings needs to be extremely professional and constantly develop in this area as well.

So what do you advise ETH members to do at the moment if they witness inappropriate behaviour?
They should take action – and as soon as possible. We must be made aware of such cases if we are to deal with individual situations, analyse them and learn lessons from them. The best way to find out more is to visit our website of the respect campaign, which offers advice on the appropriate way to act in such situations and whom to contact.

*This section has been adjusted after the publication of the interview.