Bloomberg News reported in December that Philip Dybvig, a professor at Washington University, is facing an inquiry from the University’s Title IX office about allegations of sexual harassment. Dybvig, Professor of Banking and Finance at the Olin School of Business and 2022 Nobel laureate, has been accused by more than half a dozen former students of sexual misconduct.

As detailed by a Student Life article published this October, these allegations first gained international attention after a former Olin graduate student posted an allegation of sexual misconduct on WeChat, a social media messaging app used by Chinese international students, on Oct. 12. In the article, two Chinese women who were former students of Dybvig came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.

Following the publication of Bloomberg’s article, Student Life reached out for updates on the case to Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications Julie Flory, who declined to comment on any specific case or individual.

“We take sexual misconduct very seriously and we investigate any allegations that are reported to the [U]niversity,” Flory wrote in an email to Student Life.

Bloomberg reported that none of the women its reporters spoke with, all international students, had filed a complaint to the Title IX office. The University’s Title IX office did not respond to questions from Bloomberg about what provoked its inquiry.

Since the fall, the allegations have garnered national media coverage, and Bloomberg News and NBC News, among other major publications, have reported on the issue. In addition to questioning Dybvig, Bloomberg reported that the Title IX office has contacted three or more former students to interview them since October.

Flory would not confirm or deny whether or not the Title IX office had reached out to former students regarding this issue.

As of December, seven former students have alleged they were sexually harassed by Dybvig, according to the same Bloomberg piece. These claims span at least a decade with complaints ranging from flirtatious messages to unwanted kissing and touching.

In a statement to NBC News, Andrew Miltenberg, Dybvig’s attorney, described the allegations as “factually inaccurate” and a situation of “professional rivalry” given that Dybvig won the Nobel Prize in economics last year.

The NBC article also states that Miltenberg believes the Title IX investigation is in the preliminary stages and that the office wants to speak to Dybvig again.

Dybvig had already been on an approved, year-long faculty leave before allegations broke, which will last through June 30, 2023.

On campus, many students want increased transparency about how the University is taking steps to address the allegations against Dybvig.

Junior Hawa Muhando said the University should have made a statement about Dybvig and the allegations.

“There hasn’t been, at least that I’m aware of, facilitated conversations from the University, and any type of moving forward I feel would have to involve that,” Muhando said.

Tore Ellingsen, chair of the Economic Sciences Prize Committee, told Bloomberg that “as long as the University has not determined that Dybvig has done something wrong, I think we owe him an untarnished celebration of his great scientific achievement.”

Senior Peter Jakiela felt there should have been public acknowledgement of the case.

“I have no problem with [the University] being cautious, but to not release anything at all is worrisome,” Jakiela said.

Sophomore Owen Rice echoed the wish for increased communication from the University.

“If there are reasons for [the University] keeping [the investigation] under wraps… or if there’s some information that they don’t want to release to the public, I think that’s fair,” Rice said. “But it is big news, so it would be nice if they could release some kind of statement.”

“After the investigation is over, whatever the results are, [we] are entitled to…know about what exactly happened, even if it’s extremely vague,” first-year Anita Krishtan said. “We do deserve to know some of the details about it.”