Harvard Places Professor On Leave, Fires Fencing Coach

CAMBRIDGE, MA — A Harvard professor was placed on leave and a long-time Harvard fencing coach was fired recently in two separate incidents, according to the Harvard Crimson and the Boston Globe.

Economics professor Roland Fryer was placed on a two-year administrative leave this week after the school found he violated University sexual harassment policies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay wrote in an email to Economics department members Wednesday.

And Tuesday, the Boston Globe and the Crimson reported Harvard fired Peter Brand, a fencing coach who sold his Needham home to dad with kid looking to get into Harvard.

“Harvard said Tuesday that it is firing its longtime fencing coach, finding that he violated the university’s conflict-of-interest policy by selling his home to a wealthy businessman whose teenage son was looking to apply to the university and fence on the team,” the Globe reported about two months after it broke the story that the fencing coach had sold his home to the man. The man's son ended up getting into Harvard.