Columbia University Report Details Decades of Inaction on Doctor’s Sexual Abuse
For years, women tried to warn Columbia University. Their complaints about Dr. Robert Hadden, an obstetrician-gynecologist, were dismissed or ignored. Now, a long-awaited independent report confirms a systemic failure that allowed Hadden to abuse more than 1,000 patients over nearly 25 years. The findings have prompted the departure of two senior administrators and renewed scrutiny of the university’s culture.
A Culture of Silence and Exalted Status
The 156-page report, released on Tuesday, was commissioned by Columbia following a damning 2023 investigation by ProPublica. That investigation revealed how the university repeatedly dismissed patients and protected the predator, even after his 2012 arrest. The new report outlines a “hierarchal institutional culture” where physicians held an “exalted” or “god-like” status, creating an environment where staff feared reporting concerns. It also documented a lack of clear reporting procedures and insufficient record-keeping that stymied accountability.
Specifically, investigators identified five separate complaints reported to leadership that resulted in no action against Hadden. Higher-ups failed to conduct full investigations into his misconduct. The report confirms that top executives, including former Columbia President Lee Bollinger, were alerted to Hadden’s arrest the evening it occurred in 2012.
Administrative Departures and Public Apologies
In conjunction with the report’s release, Columbia announced that two long-time administrators are leaving their positions. Dr. Mary D’Alton, chair of the OB-GYN department and Hadden’s direct supervisor, has stepped down from her administrative role, though she will maintain her clinical practice. Dr. Lee Goldman, the former dean of the medical school, will retire. Both were among those cc’d on a 2012 letter that allowed Hadden to continue seeing patients after his initial arrest.
In an internal email obtained by ProPublica, D’Alton expressed deep sorrow for the suffering Hadden inflicted. “That these acts were committed by a doctor in our department, including while I was chair, pains me deeply and always will,” she wrote. Goldman issued a statement saying his “heart breaks for the victims” and that he focused on ethics and patient safety during his tenure.
Survivors Criticize Report’s Scope
While the report validates survivors’ experiences of being ignored, a group of survivors—including Marissa Hoechstetter and Evelyn Yang—issued a sharp critique. They argue the report fails to examine Columbia’s actions *after* Hadden left the university in 2016, including documented efforts to destroy evidence, fight patients in court, and discredit them. “What Columbia has released today offers the bare minimum accountability for failures that should have been addressed years ago,” their statement said. “It confirms the systemic breakdown… But it stops short of examining the cover-up culture that survivors experienced firsthand.”
The survivors also noted that Claire Shipman, Columbia’s current acting president who signed the report’s release announcement, has been on the board of trustees since 2013, amid the initial fallout from the Hadden case.
Compensation Fund and Lingering Questions
The report’s release comes days after New York’s attorney general announced an investigation into Columbia’s response to the Hadden case. Columbia had previously established a $100 million fund for survivors, with a claims deadline extended to June 15 for those who do not wish to file a lawsuit.
The university stated it remains “steadfast in our commitment to our ongoing responsibilities” and must “confront systemic failures.” However, for survivors like Eva Santos Veloz, who reported inappropriate touching by Hadden during a 2008 emergency delivery only to be ignored, the report’s confirmation of institutional knowledge brings little solace. “The only peace it gives me is that they are publicly saying, ‘We knew about this and we did nothing,’” she said.
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As a result of the report, both Dr. Mary D’Alton, first image, chair of the OB-GYN department, and Dr. Lee Goldman, former dean of the medical school, are leaving their administrative positions at the school.
