Piterberg Timeline

Timeline of the events surrounding the cases of sexual harassment and assault by Professor Piterberg of UCLA's History Department.


First Documented Case

2005-09-01 00:00:00

2006-06-01 00:00:00

Linus Kafka, a alumnus of UCLA's history department, has reported that a female colleague of his dropped out of the PhD program due to sexual harassment. Kafka reported Piterberg's abusive behavior to the department and the 7 year Review Committee.

Piterberg Assaults Kristen Glasgow

2008-02-08 00:00:00

2008-02-08 00:00:00

"Once they were finished having coffee, Plaintiff Glasgow left to walk to her car. Professor Piterberg asked if he could walk with her because they were both parked in the same lot. When they reached Professor Piterberg’s car, he told Plaintiff Glasgow, “In another time and place we would be together.” Then he pushed her up against his car and kissed her, forcing his tongue into her mouth (exactly as he had done to Plaintiff Takla). Plaintiff Glasgow did not return the kiss. Instead, she raised her hands and arms in a defensive gesture to try to get Professor Piterberg to back away from her. After getting away from Professor Piterberg and reaching her car, Plaintiff Glasgow was shaken and humiliated, and was unable to drive away for some time."

Harassment of Nefertiti Takla Begins

2011-06-01 00:00:00

2011-08-01 00:00:00

During the summer of 2011, Professor Piterberg began exhibiting behavior that made Takla uncomfortable and nervous to be around him. Professor Piterberg consistently attempted to turn the conversations with Plaintiff Takla to sexual matters. During his academic meetings with Plaintiff Takla, Professor Piterberg would often speak in detail about his and his girlfriend's sexual relations and about sexual affairs he claimed to have had with other women. On the numerous occasions that this happened, Plaintiff Takla became uncomfortable, and would always try to change the topic of the conversation or find a reason to leave their meetings early, thus depriving her of full access to consistent academic advice and guidance.

Piterberg Attempts to Kiss Takla

2013-03-28 00:00:00

2013-03-28 00:00:00

On March 28, 2013, Plaintiff Takla met with Professor Piterberg to discuss her dissertation.He then said to her "I'm going to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone." Professor Piterberg told Plaintiff Takla, "As you've probably noticed, I've been a bit distant lately. This is because I had been feeling attracted to you and felt that I wouldn't be able to judge your work objectively if I was feeling frustrated." Plaintiff Takla understood that this was a reference to Professor Piterberg feeling sexually frustrated.Plaintiff Takla told Professor Piterberg that she wanted a strictly professional relationship with him, and that she wanted him to remain her dissertation advisor. Professor Piterberg nodded in agreement. However, it quickly became clear that his assent was meaningless. At the end of their meeting, Professor Piterberg asked Plaintiff Takla if he could give her a birthday kiss. He leaned forward to kiss her on the lips and she quickly turned her cheek to him. He then told Plaintiff Takla that if she was not his student then he would have risked everything and really kissed her. Plaintiff Takla again told him that she only wanted a professional relationship with him.

Piterberg Assaults Takla

2013-04-26 00:00:00

2013-04-26 00:00:00

On April 26, 2013, Plaintiff Takla had to meet again with Professor Piterberg to discuss her dissertation. Professor Piterberg asked Plaintiff Takla to come to his house first, and then said they would go to a nearby coffee shop. Plaintiff Takla was nervous about meeting Professor Piterberg at his home after his actions at their previous meeting, but she was concerned that if she did not go she would lose her dissertation advisor.At Professor Piterberg's house, the topic of conversation quickly changed from academics to Professor Piterberg's sexual experiences, which made Plaintiff Takla feel very uneasy. Professor Piterberg spoke at length about the details of his love affair with a woman at UCLA, whom Plaintiff Takla knew professionally. He told Plaintiff Takla that they could not keep their hands off each other and that whenever he saw her they engaged in heavy petting and kissing; however, she would not take it further because he had a girlfriend. Ill at ease with this conversation, Plaintiff Takla started talking about an academic conference. However, Professor Piterberg quickly turned the conversation once again to his sexual affairs. He told her that he and a distinguished academic who was in the same field as Plaintiff Takla would have sex together each time they attended a conference, and that his then wife was so upset by this that she would no longer face him during sex, so he had to have sex with her from behind. Then, he graphically demonstrated this action with his hands.As Plaintiff Takla went to leave, Professor Piterberg gave her a hug, as had been a normal part of their interactions for the past several years. However, this time, he squeezed her very tightly and then started moving his arms up and down, caressing her back, hair and shoulders. Plaintiff Takla stood frozen in fear. He tried to pull her head up and started moving his head down to try to kiss her. He tried to kiss her twice, and each time she ducked away. Plaintiff Takla at last managed to pull away from Professor Piterberg's grip and moved towards the door. She was so appalled by his behavior that she told him that she wished he was not her advisor. Professor Piterberg followed Plaintiff Takla to her car and, when they got there, he pressed himself against her and wrapped his arms around her once again. He began caressing her upper back and neck, and rubbing his hands over her hair. Abruptly, his body jerked into hers, and she could feel his erection. Professor Piterberg sighed with pleasure and said, "Oh, this is nice." Plaintiff Takla was frozen with terror and shock. Professor Piterberg gripped her head and forced it up towards his. He put his hand around her neck and pressed his lips against hers. Plaintiff Takla could not move or break away from him. He then opened his mouth, and forced his tongue roughly into her mouth.

Nefertiti File Complaint Against Piterberg

2013-06-24 00:00:00

2013-06-24 00:00:00

"On June 24, 2013, Plaintiff Takla was finally able to speak with Ms. Thomason over the telephone. Without giving her name, she told Ms. Thomason that she had been sexually harassed by her advisor at UCLA, and that she had written a letter to her harasser which described his inappropriate conduct and how it had affected her, but had not sent it to him."

Kristen Files Report About Piterberg with Title IX Office

2013-07-09 22:18:41

2013-07-09 22:18:41

"Plaintiff Glasgow told Ms. Thomason about the sexual harassment and assault she had experienced, and how this had made her feel humiliated. She also told Ms. Thomason about Professor Piterberg’s constant references to wanting to “fuck” colleagues and graduate students at UCLA. Ms. Thomason then read Plaintiff Glasgow’s statement back to her, and told her that they were originally going to treat Plaintiff Takla’s complaint as a “one off”, but that Plaintiff Glasgow’s report changed matters, and that she would be in touch with Plaintiff Glasgow in a week or less. Plaintiff Glasgow asked Ms. Thomason to be kept updated, because she was too afraid to go onto campus until she heard from Ms. Thomason and knew what UCLA was going to do about Professor Piterberg."

UCLA Learns of Other Cases

2013-07-31 00:00:00

2013-07-31 00:00:00

Sometime during the summer of 2013: "Ms. Thomason learned through that investigation that, in addition to the Plaintiffs, Professor Piterberg sexually harassed another graduate student at UCLA, a junior professor in another department, and a junior professor in the History Department. However, since none of these individuals were students of Professor Piterberg’s, Ms. Thomason decided to treat his sexual harassment and assault against Plaintiff Takla as a “one off.”"

Settlement Signed

2014-03-16 00:00:00

2014-03-16 00:00:00

Piterberg and UCLA (as Vice Chancellor Goldberg) sign a settlement in order to "avoid the cost, uncertainty, and inconvenience of an administrative proceeding..." This effectively ends the Nefertiti case according to UCLA. This settlement is confidential and no one is informed of it.

Story Breaks

2015-06-15 00:00:00

2015-06-15 00:00:00

The story breaks in the LA Times. Graduate students in the history department and many professors were previously unaware of the settlement or the actions of Piterberg.

Students Demand Response from Department

2015-07-01 00:00:00

2015-07-01 00:00:00

After a summer of silence from the department 50 PhD students from the history department write to the new department head, Steve Aron, demanding a statement. Arons expresses a "zero tolerance" of sexual harassment policy.

Piterberg Settlement Becomes Public

2016-01-01 00:00:00

2016-01-01 00:00:00

Sometime in January the faculty of the history department are informed about the settlement with Piterberg and his punishment (one quarter with no pay, $3000 fine, and loss of his position as head of Middle Eastern Studies Center). This information trickles down to graduate students through informal means.

Graduate Students Begin to Organize

2016-01-28 00:00:00

2016-01-28 00:00:00

Piterberg's punishment is viewed as extremely light by students and faculty. Graduate students hold their first meeting to discuss possible responses to Piterberg's punishment.

Alumni Write Letter

2016-02-16 00:00:00

2016-02-16 00:00:00

UCLA history department alumni write a letter to Chancellor Block expressing concern over Piterberg.

Faculty Write Letter

2016-02-18 00:00:00

2016-02-18 00:00:00

36 UCLA History department faculty write a letter to Chancellor Block expressing their distress over Piterberg's actions. They state that they believe he can no longer perform the functions of a faculty member.

Graduate Students Write Letter

2016-03-01 00:00:00

2016-03-01 00:00:00

67 PhD students in the department of History write a letter to Chancellor Block arguing that Piterberg should be unable to return to UCLA.