USC settles two sexual harassment lawsuits against former art professor for $280,000, records show

The University of South Carolina has paid $280,000 to settle two sexual harassment lawsuits against a former professor.

David Voros, an art professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, was accused of sexual harassment in lawsuits filed in 2020 by two colleagues: Jaime Misenheimer and Pamela Bowers, who is also Voros’ ex-wife. Misenheimer’s case settled for $120,000 and Bowers’ case settled for $160,000, according to documents the state obtained through a public records request.

A previous lawsuit against Voros, filed in 2018 by former student Allison Duvanant, was settled for $75,000. In that lawsuit, Duvanant accused Voros of making sexual advances toward her during a study trip to Italy. Combined, the three lawsuits cost the university $355,000.

In a statement to The State, Voros said he disagreed with settling the cases. “I thought it was important that the facts were tested in court. “I do not believe the outcome was justified and ask anyone interested in all of these related events to review the statements and other evidence in the public record,” Voros said in a statement issued by his attorney.

Misenheimer accused Voros, the painting area coordinator, of luring her into a dark closet in the fine arts building in February 2017, putting his arm around her and whispering in her ear, the lawsuit says. She said she believed he was making a sexual advance. She reported it to Peter Chametzky, then head of the School of Visual Art and Design, but he took no action, according to the lawsuit.

Voros retaliated by giving her poor performance reviews and preventing her from teaching classes.

The lawsuit said “several” students told Misenheimer in the spring of 2017 that they felt uncomfortable around Voros and a student who was accused of assaulting a model.

Misenheimer filed a formal complaint on behalf of a graduate student in April 2017, the lawsuit says, and Voros responded by entering Misenheimer’s classroom while she was teaching and intimidating her.

According to the complaint, Misenheimer resigned from her job at USC in May 2019.

Bowers accused Voros of making “unwanted physical and sexual advances” toward her while in her office on campus after the couple separated in 2016, the lawsuit says. The breakup, Bowers said in the lawsuit, was due in part to Voros having “one or more” sexual relationships with students or former students.

She complained to several supervisors and university officials, and Chametzky “unexpectedly” visited Bowers at her USC office and threatened her job, the lawsuit says.

After Bowers complained, Voros stood in the doorway of her classroom while she was teaching in an attempt to intimidate her, the lawsuit says. It is also alleged that when the university failed to address allegations of sexual harassment against Voros, Voros became emboldened and continued to attack Bowers, mock her and call her derogatory names.

In January 2018, Voros went into Bowers’ office and attempted to hug and grope her, the lawsuit says. She asked him to leave and he did, but later that day Voros was waiting at her car.

USC spokesman Jeff Stensland did not comment on the settlements. The state has contacted counsel for Misenheimer and Bowers.

In January 2023, Voros left the university in what the university described as retirement.

Under a resignation agreement obtained by the state through a public records request, USC’s educational foundation agreed to pay a sum of money to the South Carolina Retirement System so that Voros would be considered a 28-year-old employee and therefore eligible for a pension could have full state pension provision. According to the documents, the foundation purchased three years, five months and 16 days of service from the state on behalf of Voros so that he could receive these benefits.

The foundation repeatedly refused requests from the state to disclose how much it paid.

Voros cannot seek or accept future employment at the university, and he agreed to indemnify USC and its affiliates from any additional costs or complaints, including discrimination claims, documents show. Under the terms of the agreement, he and the University are not permitted to make derogatory or defamatory comments about each other.

When the state reported the withdrawal agreement in July 2023, Voros issued a statement not engaging in the agreement but complaining about the state’s reporting of his litigation. Voros sued The State in March 2022, claiming two stories defamed him.

In March 2024, Federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis granted the state’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case.

Prior to his resignation, Voros had not taught courses on campus since 2020. After a year-long paid sabbatical, Voros and the university had planned for him to teach several online courses in the spring 2022 semester. The university reversed that decision after a backlash.