The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Investigation clears Levin

An investigation found allegations of sexual misconduct by Chief Financial Officer Rob Levin to be unsubstantiated, President Rick Commons wrote in an email to the community Thursday.

Levin has been on a leave of absence from teaching while the school investigated the allegations posted on an anonymous blog purportedly written by a former student from more than 20 years ago. Commons first informed the community of the investigation in an email Dec. 3.

Commons said that the blog was an updated version of an earlier blog post from 2012, when the school alerted authorities and conducted an investigation into the allegations and found no evidence of any misconduct on Levin’s part.

“With the assistance of outside counsel, we took appropriate steps to investigate this matter and to alert law enforcement, both when the author made similar allegations in 2012 and after learning about the most recent blog post,” Commons wrote Thursday. “We conducted interviews of current and former employees, students, and alumni, and we reviewed potentially relevant employee emails. We also attempted unsuccessfully to reach the person who it appears was the author of the blog post, both directly and through family members.”

In his Dec. 3 email sent to the faculty, students, alumni and parents, Commons said that because an updated blog was being circulated, he was looking into the matter again.

“The nature of the questions being asked required, we felt, a) that we respond, and b) that we, out of an abundance of caution, take up the matter anew and investigate it to make sure that we are putting students’ safety at the very forefront,” he said in an interview with the Chronicle.

Commons concluded his email by saying “We stand behind Mr. Levin and continue to value him as a longtime contributor to the Harvard-Westlake community.”

While on leave, Levin worked remotely to continue in his duties as chief financial officer. Attorney and law school professor Mary Beth Kors (Annie ’14) taught his class The Business of Life.

“I’m delighted to be back and eager to return to the Business of Life classroom on Jan. 5,” Levin told the Chronicle.

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Investigation clears Levin