ORLANDO, Fla. – A University of Central Florida professor was suspended after an investigation revealed he drank alcohol and partied with students last year, according to documents gathered this week by News 6.
In an investigative report released by the university, officials said that the associate professor, whom News 6 is not naming because he does not face criminal charges, had attended an Orlando SEPA conference in March 2024.
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During the event, the professor and a group of UCF students from the Masters Clinical Psychology program went to a dinner at Carrabba’s Italian Grill, where he appeared inebriated, the report shows.
On the last day of the conference, students arranged to meet in downtown Orlando to go barhopping, though a smaller group of students met at one of the student’s apartments ahead of time, investigators stated.
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“(The professor) attended this initial get-together in the student’s apartment, where he joined the students in drinking alcoholic beverages, and then drove the students from the apartment to downtown to join the larger group,” the report reads. “While downtown, (he) allegedly inappropriately touched a female student who later reported the incident.”
Per the report, the professor’s contact with the student consisted of placing a hand on her lower back and a hand on her abdomen while speaking closely to her, and he was also allegedly spotted putting his hands on another student several times throughout the night, such as on her back, hips and belt loop.
“(He) told investigators that it was extremely crowded downtown and that he was holding onto the belt loop so the group could stay together while walking from bar to bar,” the report states.
In addition, investigators explained that he admitted to driving several students from the apartment to downtown after drinking at the apartment.
The report says Title IX investigators determined the contact with the female student wasn’t “sexual in nature or for sexual gratification,” though investigators concluded that he had violated UCF’s workplace policy, which reads as follows:
“UCF Employees are prohibited from the abuse or misuse of alcohol and/or drugs while performing work for UCF, representing UCF, or at a university-sponsored event...
Individuals are responsible for their own actions, regardless of whether their mental or physical state may be affected by mind-altering chemicals such as alcohol and other drugs... No employee or student will report to work, class or any university activity while under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol.”
UCF Policy 2-701 Drug-Free Schools and Workplace Policy
“Through interviews and (his) own statements, investigators substantiated that (he) routinely drank alcohol with students at social events while attending SEPA conferences to the point where his judgment became impaired,” the investigative report continues.
According to investigators, witnesses told them that a student had called his adult children to pick him up the night he went barhopping because he was too intoxicated to drive. While he reportedly admitted to being picked up by his son, he denied being inebriated.
Investigators also said that he engaged in similar behaviors during previous SEPA conferences in 2022 and 2023.
“During the 2023 SEPA conference, a faculty member reported telling (him) that he should not be drinking alcohol with students,” investigators wrote. “(He) dismissed the caution and responded that it was what he did with his supervisors in grad school and it’s what he’s always done.”
Investigators added that he was “cooperative and forthcoming” during their interview with him, though he denied being inebriated and claimed he didn’t remember anything about touching students.
However, the report says this may be because he had been too drunk to properly recall what happened.
“It is more likely that (he) is in denial about his excessive drinking and not purposely being untruthful,” the report says. “(He) expressed his genuine regret to investigators, stating that he was truly sorry if he ever made a student feel uncomfortable. He also committed to never socializing with students again.”
Following the investigation, a notice issued by the university reveals that he was suspended without pay from Dec. 13, 2024, to Jan. 2, 2025.
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