A longtime Loyola University ceramics professor was placed on leave this fall after two female students complained to school administrators that he made inappropriate advances toward them over the course of several months, the Phoenix has learned.
Brian Fiorentino, 53, began working at Loyola in 1988, when he was hired as an associate professor and head of the ceramics program, according to his university biography. He began an administrative leave at the beginning of the 2008 fall semester after two female students filed reports with the university about his alleged behavior, according to sources and documents obtained by the Phoenix.
University administrators would not provide details about Fiorentino's leave, including whether or not it included pay and whether or not he would return at any point. Also unclear is whether he asked to be placed on leave or the university mandated his absence. He remains listed as an associate professor of fine arts on the Loyola University Web site.
Fiorentino could not be reached for comment, despite a number of attempts by the Phoenix to do so.
One of the students, who spoke to a reporter on the condition of anonymity, supplied the Phoenix with a copy of a written transcript of her complaint, which she said she filed with the university in the summer of 2008. The copy was transcribed by a human resources employee at Loyola University who took the complaint via telephone, the student said. The complaint states that the student worked for Fiorentino as an unofficial paid assistant for a number of months. He paid her out of his personal checking account, the student stated in the complaint.
According to the document, Fiorentino scheduled the student's work hours so that the two worked alone, during which time he asked her out on dates, told her that he desired romantic involvement with her and, on one occasion, bought her wine despite the fact that she was under the legal drinking age at the time. He also told the student not to speak to university administrators about his actions because he knew he could face disciplinary action, the complaint states.
After the student left his employ, Fiorentino continued to call her, telling her that he missed her and offering a higher rate of pay, the student stated in the complaint. He also paid unsolicited visits to her in other classes and at one point offered her several hundred dollars to come to his office and speak with him, according to the document.
Except for the act of supplying alcohol to a person under 21, a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois, none of the actions attributed to Fiorentino in the report constitute a crime. A representative of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said he had not heard of Fiorentino and that the professor had not been charged with any offenses.
A number of other Loyola students the Phoenix interviewed spoke positively about Fiorentino and said that they experienced no improper behavior when they worked with him. One female student described Fiorentino as passionate about ceramics and an attentive teacher. Another praised his work in helping to design the Arnold Fine Arts Annex, which opened in 2007.
The anonymous student who talked to the Phoenix said the two complainants shared several classes last year. They eventually talked and discovered that each had experienced similar problems with Fiorentino. After discussing the matter, both agreed to file formal complaints with the university. The student who spoke to the Phoenix said that after she made her complaint, administrators assured her that she would not have class with Fiorentino again. After that, she said, she received no further updates on the matter.
"It was an entire year of my Loyola career that this happened to me," the student said. "And it really made things awkward. It was just this thing on the back of my mind the whole time."
The other female student did not provide a detailed account or copy of her complaint to the Phoenix in time for press, but confirmed that she issued a complaint. A Loyola University administrator with knowledge of the matter confirmed the identity of both students and the fact that they filed formal complaints.
Max Schuette, who graduated from Loyola in 2008 and served as president of the ceramics club through the 2007 academic year, said that the two complainants and another female student attended meetings of the ceramics club throughout the year, where all three told him on separate occasions about behavior from Fiorentino that Schuette considered inappropriate. He declined to identify the third female student.
"At first, when I heard their stories about his behavior, I was like 'No way,' " he said. "But after I heard it from multiple girls, I encouraged them to go forward to the university and say something."
Schuette also worked as Fiorentino's paid assistant throughout the 2007 academic year and said he never observed anything improper. A Loyola University fine arts administrator later contacted him over the summer after he graduated to obtain his account of the female students' stories, he said.
Christine Wiseman, provost at Loyola University, said she could not comment on personnel matters. Sarah Gabel, Ph.D., chairperson of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, said she could not comment on the matter, saying it was too personal. Several other university administrators and ceramics faculty members did not return calls or declined to comment.
Thomas Kelly, vice president for human resources at Loyola University, directed the Phoenix to the university's policy on sexual harassment, which suggests that students who have experienced possible harassment should contact the Dean of Students Office, Residence Life staff, the Counseling Center in the Wellness Center or University Ministry to explore options in confidence.
Jane Neufeld, dean of student affairs at Loyola University, said she was not familiar with Fiorentino or any alleged incidents involving him, but encouraged any student who felt harassed by a professor or mentor at Loyola to inform a staff member at the student affairs office in the Centennial Forum Student Union on the Lake Shore campus.
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