University of Iowa lecturer fired after violating sexual harassment policy

A University of Iowa professor is now out of a job, months after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. Jeffery Nock was a lecturer in the Tippie School of Business. The University fired him for violating the university's sexual harassment policy.

A woman filed a police report in April, when Nock received a harassment warning and the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center banned him from its buildings. One woman said, in July, he was recording women on the balcony of the rec center when she took a recording of him then. Feeling frustrated that he was still on campus, fliers started circulating, alleging that this lecturer in the business school was a serial harasser.

People protested in front of the Tippie College of Business last month, and just last week the University of Iowa fired Jeffrey Nock citing violation of the school's sexual harassment policy.

"Women should be able to be in an environment where we can walk freely without worrying about someone taking our picture, someone harassing us," said Liana Reimer.

The women told TV-9, at first they didn't speak up, because they didn't think it would stop the harassment.

"I decided because it wasn't an overt action because it wasn't sexual assault that I was just going to let it pass," said Reimer.

Reimer organized this rally asking for the termination of Jeff Nock after hearing from dozens of others that he was making women on campus uncomfortable.

"These women have held on to these things because they've been afraid to speak out just for that reason," said Reimer.

But experts said when people endure harassment it can have a layering effect, trauma on top of trauma, that can have long term mental health impacts.

"I have my own personal experiences with Jeff Nock and I really regret not coming forth before this incident in April," said Reimer.

"There's not just one thing that is sexual violence," said Reimer. "People think of rape as penetrative super physical battery sexual. That's not the only kind that occurs inside of rape culture"

Kerri Truefunk works with the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She said it happens more often than people realize in the employment and educational realms.

"Unfortunately things like this happen all too frequently with individuals...autonomy and for people to be treated with fairness and respect a lot of times gets overshadowed," said Truefunk.

Truefunk said the only way to change it is to change how victims feel about reporting misconduct and how society views this issues.

"It's really examining how we talk about this kind of experience how we frame survivors of this kind of experience," said Truefunk,

People seeking confidential support can contact:

- Rape Victim Advocacy Program at (319) 335-6000

-Women's Resource and Action Center at (319) 335-7294

- Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (515) 244-7424