U of T students and faculty accused him of sexual misconduct for years. So how did Andy Orchard keep getting promoted?

For nearly a decade after he left the University of Toronto for a position at Oxford, Andy Orchard's presence loomed over the downtown campus.

At U of T's Trinity College, a portrait of the former provost, draped in academic regalia, hung above students who gathered in the storied Strachan dining hall.

The painting served as a reminder of a man who had reached academic heights, first as director of the University of Toronto's Centre for Medieval Studies and then in 2007 as provost of Trinity, the most prestigious college at one of Canada's top universities.

Meanwhile, just a 10-minute walk away, in the far more casual setting of Mullins Irish Pub, a sign affixed above a booth sitting a little higher than the rest of the tables declared the spot to be Andy's Orchard."

It was, according to Trinity's 2007 alumni magazine, a booth-cum-shrine" to Orchard, known for hosting office hours there, pint of Guinness in hand.

Today, both these tributes are gone.

They have been pulled down in the wake of a two-year investigation by Al Jazeera, published in October, that alleged sexual misconduct, harassment and bullying by Orchard over the past 30 years at three institutions: the University of Cambridge, U of T and Oxford University. At the time, the Toronto Star also reported details of Orchard's alleged sexual harassment of female students at U of T in 2004 and again in 2008.

Since then, in new interviews with former colleagues, peers and students, past and present, the Star has found a trail of alleged incidents at the University of Toronto stretching back to 2000, just after Orchard was hired as a professor, and through to his appointment as provost 13 years later, including allegations of sexually propositioning, groping, threatening and bullying students. Some were taken as complaints to the administration, the Star has found, and several were brushed off or met with intimidation. The university continued to promote Orchard to Trinity's top job.

Orchard, on leave but still employed by Oxford - where he is the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, a prestigious position famously held by J. R. R. Tolkien - did not respond to questions from the Star. He has told Al Jazeera he disputes all the findings in its investigation, and has referred to some allegations during his time in Toronto as a witch hunt."

U of T president Meric Gertler released a statement in October referring to the allegations, stating the university is in the process of reviewing its policy on sexual violence and harassment. However, the university has not committed to an investigation. As well, officials at the university and its affiliated college refuse to explain why Orchard was rewarded and students' concerns were not addressed beyond moving them to new supervisors.

Former students and colleagues told the Star that Orchard was considered infallible because of his brilliance, speaking talents and fellowship with students that led to a glorious sendoff by U of T when he left the school.

This has left some feeling that the world of academia will pull its protective cloak around the revered scholar , whose alleged behaviour was an open secret" on campus.

Born in England in 1964, Orchard arrived at U of T in 2000 from the University of Cambridge, where he was head of the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic studies.

At Cambridge, he had established his global reputation as a medieval expert. He was also gaining attention for something else: the Gesta Asnacorum, a student-run comedic magazine, often took aim at Orchard's drinking and interest in female students. One issue noted: Andy Orchard buying drinks for approximately half the students (wonder which half ...?)"

Orchard left Cambridge because, according to Trinity magazine, he'd become unhappy with the heavy-handed bureaucracy' that was being used to determine the value of British research" and was looking to teach and research elsewhere. He considered Yale, but chose Toronto, because it is the best place in the world to study Anglo-Saxon," and, the magazine noted, the city looked much more suitable for child-rearing." Orchard is married, with two children.

Suzanne Akbari, currently a professor of history at Princeton, was teaching at Trinity at the time. She recalls the Medieval Studies and English departments were extremely enthusiastic" about Orchard joining the school as he was regarded as an up-and-coming star."

Within a year, Orchard had moved up to associate director of the Centre for Medieval Studies.

Not long after, in January 2002, Akbari says a female student approached her.

The Star has not been able to independently verify the allegations with the student.

The student alleged Orchard had behaved in an inappropriate, sexually provocative" way toward her, according to Akbari, who sought guidance from a former colleague who had left U of T, but had been director of the Centre for Medieval Studies.

In emails seen by the Star, Akbari writes, Surely it cannot be right ... to disregard this betrayal of trust which is (if it's not naive to say this) at the foundation of the teacher student-relationship? You are certainly right to suggest that I speak to people here, but I would be very glad for any suggestions you might have on how to proceed."

At the time, U of T had a sexual harassment officer but not an official office designed to handle sexual harassment and assault complaints; that was set up in 2017. Akbari said she wasn't aware of the officer. But on her ex-colleague's advice, she took the complaint to Professor David Klausner, then-director of the Centre for Medieval Studies.

My impression of Klausner's response was that he did not see this situation as a problem at the time."

Klausner told the Star this isn't correct, and that he certainly" didn't say it was not a problem. He explained that the university had just set up an officer to deal with harassment, and that he spoke with a number of graduate students" about not spending any time alone with Orchard.

Klausner agreed U of T had no consistent method of dealing with cases of harassment," and he recalls going to the school's sexual harassment officer, Paddy Stamp, about Orchard.

He says she recommended to warn students about Orchard. Stamp told the Star she had no comment.

The school said it's unable to address many" of the Star's questions about Orchard, particularly those related to specific allegations of sexual violence and sexual harassment," because of the nature" of its policies and confidentiality and privacy requirements. Nor would it answer questions about any grievances filed or investigations that have taken place.

Gertler's statement in October called the allegations in the Al Jazeera story deeply distressing" but did not refer to Orchard by name. Trinity College - a federated institution within U of T - said it will be launching a probe into Orchard's behaviour and is hiring an external expert" to examine Trinity-specific issues," but would provide no additional details.

In questions posed to Trinity about Orchard's promotions and whether the school was aware of allegations, it referred to its October statement on the probe. The college has its own statutes and regulations, but it follows U of T's policies for sexual assault and harassment.

Students were eager to work with Orchard, who had global connections and already had written three books. His specialty is the Old English poem Beowulf," about a hero who destroys monsters and demons.

Irina Dumitrescu was in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts degree when she signed up for Orchard's class in fall 2002.

It was generally accepted that he was the academic star in our field," said Dumitrescu. There was a sense that it would be good to study with him."

She said she soon learned expectations went beyond the lecture hall.

Orchard's classes often ended with him heading to a pub, mostly Mullins Irish Pub, and inviting his class to join.

At 11 a.m. it was frequently the case that we would go to the pub and his beer would already be waiting for him, and we would drink for hours," said Dumitrescu, currently a professor at the University of Bonn in Germany. There were calls forwarded from the (Centre for Medieval Studies) to the pub. The secretary knew where he was."

At the pub he would tease students and mock colleagues, often sharing salacious stories, she said. He would talk about who had had an affair, who had been caught having sex with someone at the university ... he would make fun of colleagues for being pathetic' and stupid.' " If they were brilliant, he would tell sexual stories about them."

Students would come to the pub because that's where he held office hours," and his approval could boost careers, said Dumitrescu. It was clearly not what other professors did."

One evening that fall, Dumitrescu joined Orchard and a group of students at a pub. At one point, Orchard sat next to her.

He put his hand on my leg, and he said: Oh I'm sorry, my hand is on your leg. Oh wait, I'm not sorry,' " she said. I will never forget that line, because I suspect he's said it before."

She said she felt shock, and glared at him. Orchard removed his hand. He never did that again ... I made it clear it wasn't something I wanted."

Dumitrescu, then 21, said she didn't recognize it as harassment, or know how to make a complaint. She thought he wouldn't do it again. But she didn't know other students had told Akbari about Orchard's behaviour that year.

In 2004, another professor initiated a complaint - David Klausner himself.

Klausner told the Star that several students had told him Orchard, whose academic success had led to his being named a Trinity Fellow the year prior, had inappropriately touched three female students at Mullins pub.

Orchard didn't know where to stop putting his hands," the three students said, according to Klausner.

Klausner told the Star he reported those complaints to the harassment officer, Stamp. According to Klausner, Stamp advised him to tell Orchard to stop making advances, and the students who complained were moved to new supervisors. She recommended he warn female grad students, which he did, he said, along with speaking to Orchard.

Klausner was the director of medieval studies until 2004. When his term ended, Orchard took over, which was not a surprise.

He had made it clear when he first arrived in 2000 that he'd very much like to be director of the centre when the position became open," he said.

As a newly minted director, Orchard continued to work with and supervise students. A former student told the Star he made sexualized jokes in class. He had a frequent bit, pretending to talk to the provost by phone to help order sex toys, said the student. The Star is not naming her due to concerns that speaking would affect her employment.

People nervously laughed ... no one ever talked about it like it was not OK, because he was the director of the Centre," she said. We're not going to say anything because we want to get into the PhD program."

The student said Orchard also belittled and bullied her at Mullins pub in front of her peers. Orchard allegedly told the whole table the student was going to sleep with the male friend beside her.

He kept hollering on about this ... and made a joke about can we watch?' " She added he also told everyone that she wasn't bright enough to run a study group. I just sat there, I was 23 at the time. He was the director of the Centre for Medieval Studies and had been my professor multiple times."

She called it devastating"; she had hoped he'd be her supervisor. His connections meant being on his good side" could lead to a career in the field.

I did tell people what happened at the time, and everyone was like well it's Andy, he was probably drunk and doesn't even remember. You could say something but I wouldn't.' "

She said there was this idea that to stay safe, you needed to stay quiet. Don't confront him because he's going to mess up your career," she said.

To some of Orchard's peers, his gregariousness and joking manner with students were strengths - he could make ancient texts jump to life by engaging young minds.

So when historian Margaret MacMillan vacated the post of provost of Trinity in 2007, Orchard seemed a likely candidate. A nomination committee of faculty and students put his name forward, and U of T finalized the appointment.

Orchard is depicted somewhat like a Beowulfian hero in a 2007 profile in Trinity College's magazine, detailing his rise to provost. The piece titled A College Quest" calls him an inspired" choice. It says he's open and friendly, and values engaging with life outside the classroom.

The ascension brought new duties, including supervising college staff and faculty, admitting students, awards, fundraising and carrying out decisions by the college's board and senate. Orchard would represent Trinity, with a duty to ensure the school's statutes and regulations were followed.

So when a female doctoral student complained to Akbari on April 10, 2008, that the provost, who was her supervisor, had engaged in sexual misconduct, Akbari, then PhD co-ordinator, figured she should take detailed notes.

The Star has not been able to independently verify what occurred that April 1 with the doctoral student. However, the Star has seen notes by Akbari, who says she typed them immediately after speaking to the student.

The doctoral student's friend says she witnessed part of the 2008 incident and says the student told her the rest immediately afterward, which she says conformed with Akbari's notes. (The friend is the same former student who says Orchard bullied her at Mullins pub in 2006.)

The student said Orchard joined her friend and several others at Mullins. She said she noticed Orchard had grabbed her friend's hand under the table.

Eventually, they left and Orchard, still holding her friend's hand, started walking with her through Queen's Park, the friend said. She and another friend followed behind.

The doctoral student told her friends that she was fine and they could go home.

According to Akbari's notes of the woman's account, the doctoral student said Orchard had physically restrained her after leaving Mullins pub and later tried to hug and kiss her.

Akbari's notes recount Orchard grabbing the student's hand, leaning against her and asking if he can go home with her. According to Akbari's notes, the student told her: I felt trapped; the whole thing was so traumatic."

Later, the friend said the doctoral student called her and said Orchard had asked to go home with her, but that she instead left for home.

The friend said the student feared she'd have to quit the program. Both the student and her friend also confided separately in Professor David Townsend, a professor emeritus at the English and Medieval studies departments at the school. Akbari and Townsend demanded a meeting with Lawrin Armstong, acting director of the medieval studies faculty at the time, and John Magee, the program's official director, temporarily at another faculty. Akbari sent Magee, Townsend and Armstrong her notes via email April 11.

Magee did not respond to emailed and mailed questions from the Star. Armstrong responded to the Star's questions via email, questioning who had shared confidential" documents rather than answering the questions, and CC'ed several people, including the university's lawyer and Magee.

In the April 11 email exchange seen by the Star, Magee, currently the Centre for Medieval Studies director, told Akbari he advised Armstrong to contact the sexual harassment office." He included Townsend and Armstrong in the email chain.

Magee also stated he doesn't doubt the veracity" of the student's reports, but that the narrative is already three levels deep," referring to the number of students alleging concerns, and that the faculty is not prepared to take depositions."

In the exchange, Akbari said her notes were simply what she wrote as the student spoke. Armstrong emailed back, expressing relief that it wasn't considered a deposition, and said it would be most unfortunate" if the notes were in broader circulation."

Next, Akbari, Townsend, Armstrong, Magee and Rosemary Beattie, the departmental manager of medieval studies, met April 14. In notes from that meeting, seen by the Star, Akbari and Townsend talk about an open secret in English and Medieval studies." Townsend clarified with the Star he meant the field of medieval studies at large had long been discussing Orchard's alleged pattern of misconduct. (Beattie declined to comment for this story.)

Following this meeting, Armstrong sent Orchard a formal letter on April 24, 2008, which the Star reported in October, warning him that if the harassment did occur, it would violate university policy, and that he should avoid drinking with students at pubs.

Orchard denied the allegations in a confidential response to Armstrong, obtained by the Star. Orchard faced no professional consequences; the student got a new supervisor.

Orchard said in the note that some colleagues' gleeful frenzy in this regard seems to smack of a witch hunt."

I am particularly saddened by any suggestion whatsoever that I am somehow inappropriate as a supervisor. As you know, I am very proud of my record of PhD supervisions, which is extensive," he states, saying he's supervised almost 50 students in his career, with no complaints.

Neither do I force or coerce anyone ... to sit in the pub with me; as you have witnessed yourself, it is rather the case that folks seek me out." He said he would be more circumspect" about who he sits with.

He also said anyone suggesting he is in any conflict of interest with students will do so based on more than slurs, smears and tittle-tattle, or face the consequences."

At the time, the U of T was relying on the 1997 policies for sexual harassment, with some amendments along the way. The policies say the sexual harassment officer was responsible for applying the school's policies and procedures. A key aspect is someone alleging misconduct would have to reveal their name to the person they are reporting.

The process can move forward if the complainant formally submits a report. Then the options are either an informal resolution, or that combined with a formal hearing, with consequences that can rise to dismissal.

The policies say if there is good reason to believe that risk of serious physical harm exists for any person," but no complaint has been made, anyone can bring this to the vice-president who then can decide if action is needed.

The student at the centre of the complaint did not want to put her name forward, said Akbari.

Still, Simple, visible steps could have been taken to signal official awareness of the issues," Townsend told the Star. Support for students could have been explicitly and publicly stressed. It was disappointing and disillusioning that such steps were only minimally undertaken."

Akbari said Magee told her the matter was considered closed. And later, she alleges, a senior member at the Centre for Medieval Studies told her to delete emails on the pub incident and destroy any copies of her notes.

[They] further cautioned me not to ever speak about the incident," she said, adding she was warned she could be sued for libel.

As this was going on behind the scenes, Orchard was being courted by Oxford. In the 2013 media release announcing his new professorship, Magee praised Orchard, calling him a thoroughbred: fleet, solitary, beautiful to watch run," and there's no replacing such a scholar and teacher."

In the weeks before he left, Alexandra Gillespie, an academic in medieval studies at the time, alleges an incident involving Orchard. Gillespie, currently a U of T vice-president, told Al Jazeera that a drunken Orchard cornered her and threatened her.

She reported it to the director of medieval studies, but made clear she didn't want a formal complaint because he was leaving soon, she told Al Jazeera.

On Sept. 10, 2013, as a supportive crowd gathered to send off Orchard. His portrait was revealed and several professors and administrators made speeches.

Armstrong explained how Orchard had allowed the school to attract more students and host important conferences.

An English professor called him the most brilliant of old English scholars of his generation."

At the end, Chancellor Bill Graham raised a glass to Orchard as they revealed his portrait. Orchard went on stage, shook Graham's hand and kissed his cheek.

It's called the Guinness kiss," Graham joked to the audience.

On Nov. 1 of this year, in the wake of the original Al Jazeera and Star reporting, the student-run Trinity College Against Sexual Assault and Harassment group sent an open letter calling for the University of Toronto, and not just Trinity, to formally investigate the Orchard allegations.

The group has demanded U of T condemn Orchard and introduce a zero-tolerance policy on faculty-student relationships.

The letter says Trinity and U of T have historically not supported sexual assault survivors and that failing to act upholds a culture of damaging silence." The university, which overhauled its sexual assault policies in 2017, hasn't responded to the letter. It's very in line with how the university has behaved," said Micah Kalisch, a third-year student and president of the group.

Kalisch said that a year ago, the group first raised issues with Trinity around Orchard's tenure when his name began circulating in social media #MeToo circles, but got no response.

As a student and as a survivor, it's incredibly disheartening how little they seem to care."

Trinity told the Star the school is committed to providing a safe, welcoming and healthy campus community" and that sexual violence or harassment is not tolerated.

Meanwhile, calls for accountability at institutions where Orchard has worked at have come from several academic organizations worldwide.

The Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA), a group of early medieval scholars that facilitates projects and a yearly conference, condemned Orchard in a statement Nov. 2, calling on universities where he has worked, including U of T, to take real action," with consequences.

It's been this open secret circulating in the academic discipline for a very long time," said Georgia Henley, a professor at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and one of the statement's co-authors. And there's always been a sense that nothing could really be done about it, he's too powerful, too lawyered up ... so we just have to rely on this whisper network where women are warning each other."

Mary Dockray-Miller, an early medieval England scholar and English professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., petitioned the academic journal Notes & Queries to remove Orchard as editor. His name was taken off the masthead Nov. 30.

For the past 25 years, especially women have been warning each other about him through the whisper network," she said. At international conferences on medieval studies, women would tell others, You know, don't be alone with him, don't get into an elevator with him.

Everybody knew about it."

The Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship has stated it is appalled" by the institutional protection that allowed Orchard to endanger students and colleagues." Its statement demanded Oxford University hold accountable the people who appointed him.

Melissa Elmes, president of the Society, said there's relief that the allegations came out, and concern for the women who have stepped forward.

Oxford has said that while it cannot comment on individual cases, it takes all allegations of harassment or misconduct seriously, and any concerns are rigorously investigated."

If complaints of sexual harassment or misconduct are upheld, the University will take disciplinary action where appropriate and will put in place steps aimed at ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, which is always our first priority," it said in a statement to the Star.

In the next few weeks, the school will meet students and faculties where concerns have been raised and explore areas where improvements can be made."

In the meantime, Orchard has taken a voluntary leave of absence from his duties as professorial fellow and trustee of Oxford's Pembroke College. College spokesperson Catherine Beckett said Orchard, for the foreseeable future, will not attend academic or social functions or meetings of the governing body or its committees. She confirmed Orchard is not teaching or supervising students at the college.

At Mullins pub on a mild December day, the booth that used to be Orchard's was adorned with red and silver Christmas tinsel.

The owner said he removed the Orchard memorabilia, including the sign and a framed cover of his book, after media reports in October. He said neither he nor his staff remember anything untoward. He was just a guy who hung out here."

But that booth remains on the minds of past Trinity students.

Dumitrescu recalled Orchard at the pub making fun of academics in a sexualized way. She wishes she had the language back then to discuss the effect Orchard had on her, long term.

That was more pernicious than I knew," she said.

It affected me well into my 30s."

Olivia Bowden is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star. Reach her via email: obowden@thestar.ca