The Consequences of Sexual Misconduct

Faculty sexual misconduct harms individual students and can also reshape the academic pathways of entire cohorts. This paper by Blueprint research Sarah Cohodes and Katherine Leu links verified misconduct cases to nationwide data on degree completion to measure how these incidents influence whether students remain in their chosen fields. Using a stacked event study design, the authors find that field-specific misconduct leads to meaningful declines in degree completion, with particularly strong effects for incidents that occurred after 2015. Students tend to leave male-dominated majors following these events, yet their shifts do not substantially change expected earnings. The findings show how faculty misconduct can create long-lasting educational and workforce consequences beyond the immediate harm to victims.