The professor denies it. The university in Des Moines it is addressing the student’s allegations.
A former student has accused a Drake University associate professor of sexual harassment.
Mahmoud Hamad, an associate professor in Drake’s department of political science, allegedly asked Nickey Jafari, one of his advisees, to sit on his lap and call him “Dad” during meetings in his private office, Jafari wrote Nov. 10 in a social media post.
Jafari, 24, of Overland Park, Kansas, wrote on Facebook that Hamad “threatened to spank me if I did not get all A’s.”
“I am writing this because I know what it feels like to be powerless, to feel vulnerable, and small, and absolutely petrified in that situation,” Jafari wrote. Her post was viewable to the public for several days; Jafari said she has since limited its visibility.
Hamad’s office door states he is on sabbatical. His wife answered the door at his West Des Moines home and declined to comment Nov. 13. Hamad later called a Des Moines Register reporter but declined to comment beyond denying any allegations against him. The university says an investigation is in progress.
In an interview with the Register, Jafari said she decided to speak out after three-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman reported sexual abuse by former U. S. women’s gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar .
“I really admire her and thought that was so brave,” Jafari said.
Jafari said Hamad’s requests and comments occurred during her sophomore and junior years. She was an international relations major, and Hamad was her academic adviser.
“At the time I was young and naive and did mental gymnastics to justify it,” Jafari wrote in her Facebook post.
In a second Facebook post, Jafari wrote that she eventually asked her friend, Hannah Shell, to attend academic meetings with Hamad so she did not have to be alone with him.
Shell, 26, of Des Moines said Jafari first told her about the situation during their junior year at Drake. Hamad was also her adviser, but Shell said he never behaved inappropriately toward her.
Shell said she tried to attend meetings with Jafari as often as possible.
“He did not make overt sexual advances toward Nickey when I was in the room,” Shell said. “But he would say things like ‘Oh, Nickey, I miss you. I haven’t seen you.’ He had a cavalier way of acting with her that was inappropriate.”
Shell said she felt uncomfortable around Hamad after hearing Jafari’s story.
“He had to sign off on my degree to graduate,” she said. “I felt like I was not in a position to tell him what I really thought of him or dissociate myself from him completely.”
Jafari, who graduated from Drake in 2014, said she has told close friends and family but chose not to speak publicly for five years.
Victims of sexual harassment and abuse have come forward in recent weeks with allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior from high-profile men, including news anchors Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose, radio host and writer Garrison Keillor, film mogul Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C. K. and former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore, who is now a Republican candidate for a U. S. Senate seat in Alabama. In Iowa, an internal report released last week referenced problems with sexual remarks made on the state Senate floor.
Drake University officials responded to requests for comments with this written statement:
“Drake University is aware of the claims made by the former student against Professor Hamad. We take such allegations seriously and have strong policies in place under Title IX that are being followed. We have been working closely with the former student to address the concerns. However, because the process has not yet concluded, no further comment can be provided.”
