I am now deleting the particulars listed below and replacing them with the Ledger's article as it is more informative
Former Seton Hall president says his wife was sexually harassed, but detailed report disputes claim
- Published: Jul. 11, 2024, 2:47 p.m.
An independent investigation into stunning claims by former Seton Hall University president Joseph Nyre that his wife had been sexually harassed by the chairman of the school’s Board of Regents, concluded there was no evidence to substantiate the accusations, according to a report by an outside law firm retained by the school.
That report added that it was “highly unlikely that the events occurred” as had been alleged by Nyre, who also charged in a lawsuit earlier this year that he had been the victim of retaliation, misconduct and “gaslighting” by the university in what turned into a bitter feud with former Board of Regents chairman Kevin Marino. The fight ultimately led to a separation agreement and Nyre’s departure from the private Catholic university in South Orange.
Nyre’s attorney, R. Armen McOmber of McOmber McOmber & Luber, called the investigation report “an obvious sham” that “contains misrepresentations and completely inaccurate findings, and failed to even interview the right witnesses.”
Nyre’s abrupt exit came just eight months after a university inquiry into “irregular financial transactions” at the law school in Newark involving what officials said was a small number of “trusted, long-time employees” who had been found to have cheated Seton Hall Law School out of more than $975,000.
There had been much speculation as to whether the law school matter had played a role in Nyre’s decision to step down, but he claimed at the time that the conclusion of a campus-wide strategic planning initiative was an “appropriate time” for the university to consider new leadership and he announced plans to take a sabbatical. He had been New Jersey’s highest-paid college president in 2020, with a total compensation package of $1.27 million, according to data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
But in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Essex County in February, Nyre claimed he was felt forced to leave over concerns regarding the handling of the scandal at the law school, as well as what he claimed was “serious misconduct” by Marino, who was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit and is no longer on the governing board.
Among his demands were reinstatement, back pay and benefits.
Nyre claimed that Marino — a high-profile criminal defense lawyer — had interfered with the law school investigation. He also alleged that Marino repeatedly pressured him to admit students to graduate programs within Seton Hall’s School of Health and Medical Sciences, and to admit underqualified students into the law school.
The complaint also alleged that the attorney subjected Nyre’s wife, Kelli, to several acts of sexual harassment — including touching her back, kissing her on the neck and placing his hands on her shoulders.
The court filing alleged sexual harassment by Marino at two university events, including a Board of Regents annual dinner in June 2021, when Kelli Nyre claimed Marino allegedly “placed his hand on her back preventing [her] from moving, moved [her] hair away from her neck with his other hand, kissed [her] on the neck, and whispered into her ear, ‘you know I love you.’”
The second cited a Board of Regents Christmas reception on December 6, 2022, when Kelli Nyre in court papers said that Marino allegedly “placed his hands on her shoulders and commented in a lascivious tone, ‘Look at [Kelli Nyre] rocking the Loubees,’ in apparent reference to her Christian Louboutin shoes.”
The university retained Perry Law of New York to investigate the sexual harassment claims in the wake of a filing by the Nyres with the state Office of Equal Employment Opportunity regarding those allegations.
In a report by the firm that became public on Thursday after attorneys for Marino filed an amicus brief to get the entire lawsuit tossed out of court, investigators found “no evidence to support that Mr. Marino sexually harassed Mrs. Nyre, or that the university intentionally ignored or diminished any such allegations made by the Nyres.”
The report did not address the allegations of gaslighting or retaliation.
Despite the Nyres’ account, the Perry report said not a single witness corroborated the alleged instances of harassment.
“Mr. Marino vehemently denies these claims and has provided evidence of a friendly relationship between himself and both Dr. and Mrs. Nyre, even after the dates of the Nyres’ allegations that further tend to rebut these claims,” the report stated. “Furthermore, Mrs. Nyre has repeatedly refused to cooperate with the university’s attempts to investigate these claims.”
The Perry investigation was conducted by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former assistant Manhattan District Attorney who had served as deputy chief of the office’s sex crimes unit.
The report noted that approximately six weeks after the alleged kissing incident the Nyres and their children voluntarily went to Mr. Marino’s vacation home in Martha’s Vineyard and the two families spent the day together.
“The families swam, ate, and drank together and Mr. Marino recalled that he and Mrs. Nyre had a long conversation about a book they both were reading, and that she did not express or show any discomfort in his presence,” the report noted.
Investigators said they spoke with the majority of those seated with the Nyres and the Marinos at the first event, and several priests who attended the event, given Mrs. Nyre’s recollection that a priest was standing beside her when the alleged harassment occurred.
“None of those individuals witnessed any harassing, inappropriate or even unusual contact between Mr. Marino and Mrs. Nyre. Everyone we spoke to unequivocally denied seeing Mr. Marino touch Mrs. Nyre’s hair or kiss her neck, or hearing him say, ‘You know I love you.’”
In fact, the Perry Law investigation cited a sworn certification alleging that Nyre pushed another woman “to make a false harassment allegation against Mr. Marino,” who later made it clear that “that she did not feel Mr. Marino sexually harassed her in any way.”
McOmber said Seton Hall had publicly and unambiguously declared the claims to be “frivolous” and “completely without merit,” months before finalizing the investigation report.
“The conclusions of the investigation, which began the same day that the Nyres filed their complaint, were a foregone conclusion and were predetermined before the investigation even began,” he said. “The investigation report falsely represents the Nyres refused to participate in the alleged investigation despite the university’s repeated attempts to contact them. In reality, investigators were urged by the Nyres’ counsel to interview them regarding Mrs. Nyre’s complaints of sexual harassment throughout December 2023. The university refused and only commenced its investigation after the legal complaint had been filed and after the university had already declared what the findings would be.”
More than ever, said McOmber, “my clients look forward to their day in court.”
University spokeswoman Laurie A. Pine said the investigation “was scrupulously conducted by a respected third-party.”
“We are satisfied with the diligence of the investigation and its conclusions,” said Pine. “Seton Hall University has an unwavering commitment to fostering a safe, supportive, and inclusive living and learning environment for all members of our campus community.”
Marino’s attorney, Christopher Porrino of Lowenstein Sandler, said they were not surprised by the report’s findings.
We are also deeply troubled by the suggestion that Dr. Nyre encouraged at least one other woman to make a false harassment claim against Mr. Marino,” he said. “Suffice to say, we will take the steps necessary to hold the Nyres personally accountable for their actions.
Seton Hall, which is home to more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, has denied the allegations in the Nyre complaint and is separately seeking its dismissal.
