Dietram Scheufele
Introduction
Dietram Scheufele, a prominent professor of life sciences communication, resigned from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on 15 August 2026 — agreeing never to seek employment there again — after a university compliance investigation substantiated violations of its consensual relationship policy and other faculty conduct rules following complaints from three female students, including allegations of sexual relationships with two students and unwelcome sexual conduct at a work conference. Weeks later, Arizona State University hired him as a Foundation Professor, a decision reported by ASU’s student newspaper on 4 September 2026 and defended by ASU on the basis that it conducts background checks. Scheufele disputes the findings.
Background Information
Scheufele joined UW-Madison in 2004 and built a two-decade career in the Department of Life Sciences Communication, becoming one of the most cited scholars in science communication research. In Fall 2026 he was due to teach at ASU as a Foundation Professor — an honour the university’s president and provost confer to recognize “outstanding faculty” — instructing a B session iCourse called Science, Media and Society. The case against him began when three female students filed complaints alleging sexual harassment, intimidation and hostile behavior; UW-Madison’s Office of Compliance investigated, ending its investigation in September 2025, nearly a year before his resignation.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
University findings, disputed. The findings are UW-Madison compliance conclusions under university policy. No criminal charges are recorded. Scheufele contests the conclusions and states the matter was resolved “without any admission of wrongdoing by either party”.
According to public records obtained by The State Press, the investigation substantiated violations of UW-Madison’s consensual relationship policy — which restricts romantic or sexual relationships between faculty and their students — alongside several additional policy violations supported by the evidence. The records included allegations that Scheufele had sexual relationships with two students and engaged in unwelcome sexual conduct with one of the complainants at a work conference, within the broader harassment, intimidation and hostile-behavior complaints the three students filed.
The consequences followed: Scheufele resigned from his professorship on 15 August 2026, and the records state he agreed not to pursue employment at UW-Madison in the future — a no-rehire term that functions as the institutional finding’s enforcement even without a formal termination. In a written statement to the Wisconsin State Journal he contested the substance: “I have consistently disputed the Office of Compliance’s conclusions regarding UW’s Consensual Relationships Policy and Faculty Conduct Rules and have submitted substantial evidence challenging its initial reports… Even though the disputed issues were resolved without any admission of wrongdoing by either party, I was fully prepared to have all allegations vetted in subsequent live hearings if necessary.”
ASU hired him anyway. The university received a notice from UW-Madison in July 2026 sharing that Scheufele had violated the consensual relationship policy — before his resignation took effect — and hired him regardless; a university spokesperson confirmed he works at ASU and said the university “conducts background checks as part of its hiring and onboarding process”. Scheufele did not respond to The State Press’s requests for comment.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The State Press’s 4 September 2026 report — the student newspaper breaking the case through public records — drew the connection ASU’s announcement had not made: a professor hired with honour status weeks after resigning under a no-rehire agreement following substantiated student complaints. The reporting makes the findings themselves the public consequence: two decades of standing at UW-Madison ended in a resignation agreement, and the three complainants’ accounts, though never tested in live hearings, are now part of the documented record at both universities. ASU’s decision to proceed with the hire stands as the other half of the record — the university’s spokesperson offered the background-check process as its answer.
Current Status
Scheufele works at ASU as a Foundation Professor of Communications, teaching Science, Media and Society in the Fall 2026 B session. His UW-Madison resignation is final and his no-rehire agreement stands; the compliance findings remain disputed by him and unsubstantiated by any court, as no legal proceedings are recorded. Whether ASU’s own processes will revisit the hire is not addressed in the reporting.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The investigation ended a 22-year career at UW-Madison and removed him from the institution where his scholarly reputation was built — under terms, the no-rehire agreement, that mark the separation as anything but neutral. The move to ASU preserved his professorial career at Foundation Professor rank, but the State Press report attached the complaints and findings to his new post permanently: his students, colleagues and the public can read the compliance findings alongside his denial. The case has become a reference point in the running debate over whether universities warn each other — UW-Madison did send notice in July, before his resignation — and what receiving institutions owe that information.
Sources
- *The State Press, “ASU hires professor who violated former university’s policy,” Sep 4, 2026 — source