A McMaster University employee who works with first-year students living on campus has been placed on leave after allegations surfaced he’d previously lost his teacher’s licence due to professional misconduct that included the “sexual abuse” of students.
The Hamilton university confirmed on Friday that Andrew Campbell, a training and development coordinator on the management team for Residence Life, is on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Students began posting about Campbell’s teaching history on online discussion sites such as Reddit last week. University spokesperson Wade Hemsworth said in a statement “action has been swiftly taken.”
“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students and we follow all employment laws in our hiring practices,” Hemsworth said.
McMaster did not answer questions about whether it knew of Campbell’s background before he was hired.
Campbell previously taught in Brantford, Ont., and admitted to the Ontario College of Teachers in 2014 that he physically, verbally and sexually abused a student or students despite several warnings from principals, said a disciplinary committee decision.
“The member, over a two-year period in two schools, engaged in conduct unbecoming of a member, which included sexualized and abusive language towards students, inappropriate choice of … teaching materials and physical abuse of students,” the decision said.
According to a LinkedIn profile with Campbell’s name, he was an elementary school teacher.
He did not respond to requests for comment.
Student calls situation ‘truly disappointing’
The incidents date back to 2006 when Campbell told a student to “shut up,” and played commercials for his class that contained the words “put your breasts in my hands” and showed a female being undressed, according to an agreed statement of facts from the decision.
In 2008, he yelled the word “penis” several times when approached by students, demonstrated the “sprinkler effect of urination” and told students one of their peers was absent because he had had his testicles or penis cut off, the decision said.
Campbell also struck a female student on the back with a volleyball and hit her shin with his knuckles. The Children’s Aid Society investigated and found his actions constituted “inappropriate physical discipline,” said the decision.
It also said Campbell was charged by police with assault, but the Crown later withdrew the criminal charges and he entered into a peace bond without pleading guilty.
Campbell was then transferred to another school, the decision said. In November 2008, Campbell grabbed a male student’s arm and “applied physical pressure” to move him out of the room.
After the disciplinary hearing in 2014, Campbell agreed to take anger management and sensitivity training and had his teaching credentials suspended for two months between June and August of that year.
Years later, in 2020, Campbell’s licence was permanently revoked after Ontario’s government passed a law that banned for life teachers previously disciplined for “sexual abuse of a student,” according to the legislation. His profile with the Ontario College of Teachers’s online public registry includes details of that decision.
The province’s definition of sexual abuse includes “behaviour or remarks of a sexual nature by the [teacher] against the student.”
It is unclear when Campbell was hired by McMaster.
In an interview with CBC Hamilton this week, McMaster student Mariam Kourabi called the situation alarming and questioned why the university had hired Campbell.
Kourabi is in fourth year, and hasn’t interacted with him, but does mentor “vulnerable” first year students who live in residences. She came forward out of concern over McMaster’s responsibility in the case.
“McMaster has to review its [hiring] process,” she said. “If someone is not fulfilling their duties, it would be truly disappointing.”