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The former head of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette political science department, Donn Kurtz, Ph.D., has stepped down following allegations of sexual harassment in a complaint, civil lawsuit and criminal charges levied by a former student, Kelly May, who graduated in May 2006.

May, a graduate of the political science department, has filed a civil charge against Kurtz, UL Lafayette, the board of supervisors of the University of Louisiana system and the state of Louisiana. The suit, filed on Nov. 3, claims that “plaintiff, Kelly May, was subjected to a pattern of conduct in violation of her civil rights and human rights, caused by unreasonable intrusions into the most private and confidential subjects by Donn M. Kurtz, II, individually and in the course and scope of his employment.”

A criminal charge has also been filed with the Lafayette City Police Department. It was transferred to the UL Lafayette Police Department, where it is currently under investigation. The initial report reads that May alleges “that her former advisor touched her breast on several occasions over a two-and-a-half year period,” and that the most recent occurence was on Nov. 4, 2005.

The civil suit reads, “in the Fall of 2003, in one of her sessions with her advisor, Donn M. Kurtz, II, the defendant, inappropriately touched and fondled plaintiff’s breasts while he was alone with her in her office.” It then alleges that Kurtz touched May “inappropriately virtually every time he advised her in his office while they were alone,” and claims this continued until November 2005.

It goes on to accuse Kurtz of “assault, battery, sexual assault and sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, through reckless and outrageous offensive conduct exemplified by a pattern of conduct and particular incidents unwelcomed, non-consensual assault, battery, sexual assault, and sexual battery.”

“There has been an allegation by a former student concerning Dr. Kurtz’s behavior, which is currently under investigation by the university,” said David Barry, Ph.D. and dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Barry said the complaint with the university was filed at some point after May’s graduation in May 2006.

Kurtz, who had served as the department head since at least 2000, stepped down following the accusation, and was replaced by his predecessor, Janet Frantz, Ph.D. Kurtz is still listed as the department head on certain sections of the UL Lafayette Web site. He is currently on medical leave for the rest of the semester, according to students in one of his former classes.

According to Barry, an internal complaint relating to the matter is currently under investigation by Patricia Cottonham, associate dean of students at UL Lafayette. Cottonham, Kurtz, Frantz and several faculty members in the department of political science all declined to comment for this story, because of certain restrictions the university has regarding confidentiality for “personnel matters.”

Kurtz graduated from Tulane University in 1971. According to the political science department’s Web site, he was honored with a Faculty Excellence Award given by graduates of Blue Key, an honorary leadership society at UL Lafayette. He has edited a compilation of articles about political families and authored a text on Louisiana supreme courts and their interaction with U.S. justices.