11-13-2008 Iowa:IOWA CITY (AP) — A University of Iowa music professor named in a sexual harassment lawsuit is dead, apparently of suicide, Iowa police said today.
Sgt. Troy Kelsay confirmed the death of Mark Weiger, an Iowa professor since 1988.
Kelsay says police were called to Weiger’s home in Iowa City on Wednesday, where they found him dead in his car in his garage. An autopsy is pending.
A former Iowa student, Melissa Rose Walding Milligan, filed a sexual harassment suit against Weiger and the university last week.
In the lawsuit, Walding Milligan claimed that Weiger regularly made sexual remarks and harassed her while also having a sexual relationship with another student during the 2006-2007 school year.
The lawsuit states that the university has been aware of Weiger’s alleged behavior since 1993. It also states that when Walding Milligan filed a complaint against Weiger in June 2007, the university found he had violated the school’s sexual harassment policy and reached an informal resolution with the professor.
The university released a statement today offering its condolences to Weiger’s family, friends and colleagues.
The statement said Weiger came to the university in 1988 to teach oboe and chamber music. He received his degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School.
Weiger’s death comes three months after another University of Iowa professor accused of sexual misconduct committed suicide. Arthur Miller was accused of offering higher grades to female students in exchange for sexual favors.
..News Source.. by Globe Gazette
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