NUS prof sacked for sexual misconduct: 3 allegations investigated by Committee of Inquiry

An anonymous complaint was sent to the university in August against Professor Theodore G. Hopf. PHOTOS: NUS, JASON QUAH

SINGAPORE - A National University of Singapore (NUS) professor was dismissed on Tuesday (Dec 1) for sexual misconduct against a student.

An anonymous complaint was sent to the university in August against Professor Theodore G. Hopf, the provost chair professor at the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

In October, NUS appointed a Committee of Inquiry (COI) to look into the allegations against the professor, who is better known as Ted Hopf.

Here is a look at the three allegations and the COI's findings:

1. October 2018: Prof Hopf sent a sex-text message to the student.

Findings by COI: Prof Hopf admitted to sending the sex-text message to the student but explained to the COI that the message was meant for someone else. As Prof Hopf did not clearly inform the student that the message was meant for someone else, and he also did not apologise for sending the message by mistake, the COI established that this was a serious professional misconduct.

2. August 2020: During a meeting between the student and Prof Hopf on campus, he offered and drank alcohol with the student, and also made an offensive remark about certain parts of the student's anatomy.

Findings by COI: Prof Hopf admitted to making the remark. The COI found that the consumption of alcohol in the workplace and the act of making an offensive remark contravened provisions in the NUS Code of Conduct for Staff relating to expectations of professional behaviour.

3. August 2020: In the same meeting, Prof Hopf pulled the student forcefully towards him twice, during which the student resisted, moved back and told him to stop.

Findings by COI: Prof Hopf admitted to placing his hands on the shoulders of the student while facing the student, but denied pulling the student towards him. The COI found the student's account of the unwelcome physical contact to be credible and that the acts contravened provisions in the NUS Code of Conduct for Staff.

To protect the privacy and well-being of the student, some details of the allegations and findings have been withheld, said NUS.

Remote video URL

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.