USC settles 2 sexual harassment cases against former art professor for $280K, records show

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

David Voros, who was an art professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, was accused of sexual harassment in lawsuits filed in 2020 by two coworkers: Jaime Misenheimer and Pamela Bowers, who is also Voros’ ex-wife. Misenheimer’s case was settled for $120,000, and Bowers’ case was settled for $160,000, according to documents obtained by The State 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 suit, Duvanant accused Voros of making sexual advances towards her during a study abroad trip to Italy. Combined, the three lawsuits cost the university $355,000.

In a statement to The State, Voros said he did not agree with settling the cases. “I thought it important for the facts to be considered in a court of law. I do not believe that justice was served in the outcome and invite those interested in all of these related events to review the depositions and other evidence in the public record,” Voros said in a statement issued through his attorney.

Misenheimer accused Voros, who was coordinator of the painting area, of luring her into a dark closet in the visual arts building in February 2017, putting his arm around her and whispering in her ear, according to the lawsuit. She said she thought he was making a sexual advance. She reported it to Peter Chametzky, the then-chair of the School of Visual Art and Design, but he did not take any action, according to the lawsuit.

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

The lawsuit said “multiple” students told Misenheimer in spring 2017 that they were uncomfortable being around Voros as well as a student who had been accused of assaulting a model.

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

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

Bowers accused Voros of making “unwelcome physical and sexual advances” towards her while in her campus office after the couple separated in 2016, according to the lawsuit. The separation, Bowers said in the lawsuit, was partially because Voros had “one or more” sexual relationships with students or former students.

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

After Bowers complained, Voros would stand in her classroom doorway while she was teaching class to intimidate her, according to the lawsuit. It also alleges that as the university failed to address accusations of sexual harassment against Voros, he grew emboldened and continued to attack Bowers, taunting her and calling her derogatory names.

In January 2018, Voros went to Bowers’ office and attempted to hug and grope her, the lawsuit said. 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 reached out to the attorney for Misenheimer and Bowers.

In January 2023, Voros left the university, which the university called retirement.

As part of 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 could qualify as a 28-year employee and therefore be eligible to receive full state retirement benefits. According to documents, the foundation, on Voros’ behalf, purchased three years, five months and 16 days of service credit from the state so he would receive these benefits.

The foundation has 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 discharge USC and those affiliated from any additional cost or complaints, including discrimination claims, documents showed. He and the university are not allowed to make disparaging or defamatory comments about the other, per the agreement’s stipulations.

When The State reported on the resignation agreement in July 2023, Voros issued a statement that did not address the agreement, but rather complained about The State’s coverage of his legal disputes. Voros sued The State in March 2022, alleging that two stories defamed him.

In March 2024, federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis granted The State’s request for a summary judgment and dismissed the case.

Before his resignation, Voros hadn’t taught classes 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 semester of 2022. The university reversed that decision following a backlash.