An Ohio University professor has been placed on paid leave after taking a former student to his home and showering her with gifts — including a $600 diamond ring.
Regis Noroski, 61, a health administration professor at OU’s Lancaster branch campus, has been banned from campus as officials continue to investigate charges brought against him by the former student. A university investigation concluded in December found the meeting and gifts were a violation of OU’s sexual harassment policy.
The female student, who had taken a class taught by Noroski in the fall, told OU officials that her former professor set up a Nov. 28 meeting with her so she could return a borrowed calculator to him.
But that meeting, she told OU investigators, turned into an ice cream date and then a trip to Noroski’s house — where he gave her nearly half a dozen gifts and told her she was “the kind of person he could have married,” according to notes from the OU investigation.
“I was absolutely scared for my life,” the student told OU officials in a Dec. 3 e-mail.
University records show the student graduated from high school last spring and that this fall was her first quarter of college — likely making her at least 40 years younger than Noroski.
Noroski, who has taught at OU since 2007 and earns $49,450 a year, was prohibited from contact with any OU student Dec. 27, and a university spokesperson confirmed that he remains on paid leave.
Neither Noroski nor James Smith, dean of OU’s Lancaster branch campus, returned requests for comment.
A borrowed calculator
Noroski told investigators from OU’s Office of Institutional Equity that he always thought this particular student might be interested in him, according to records obtained by The Post.
He said she had winked at him on multiple occasions and wrote “I [heart] Regis” on an exam in place of an answer she didn’t know.
So when she showed up to the final exam without a calculator, Noroski said he happily supplied her with one under the condition that she remember to give it back.
When she forgot, Noroski called her at home to set up a time to return it. They agreed to meet in a university parking lot.
However, during the Nov. 28 meeting, Noroski asked her to get into his car and drove her to a nearby Arby’s where he bought her ice cream. Afterward, he drove her to a garage where he keeps cars he owns and then to his house in Thornville.
Along the way, investigators say Noroski gave the student a steady stream of gifts. In the car he gave her a knitted hat and a stuffed animal.
The student told OU investigators she didn’t feel threatened while getting ice cream with Noroski, but began feeling uncomfortable once he suggested they go to his house.
Once at his home, Noroski gave the student a tour, then two more presents — a scented candle and a Santa Claus figurine and votive — and led her to his bedroom.
It was there he presented her with a solitaire-style diamond ring, valued at around $600.
Noroski told investigators that he saw the ring while shopping in Pittsburgh, and thought the student might like it. It wasn’t until after purchasing the gifts, Noroski said, that he realized her age.
After giving her the ring, Noroski gave her a hug and drove her back to her car.
The student filed a sexual harassment complaint the next day.
No other complaints
OU-Lancaster administrators told OIE investigators that they had never received any other complaints about Noroski.
His annual performance reviews were overwhelmingly positive — receiving perfect marks in every category during 2008-2009 — and the vast majority of student course evaluations were also positive.
But OU-L administrators noted that Noroski had once inquired about university policies regarding student-teacher relationships because he believed a student was interested in him. Investigators concluded that inquiry was unrelated to the current situation.
OU’s sexual harassment policy prohibits an unwelcome sexual advance by an OU employee or student toward any other employee or student.
“Ohio University takes these matters very seriously,” wrote OU-L dean James Smith in a Dec. 27 letter to Noroski.
OU's Faculty Handbook prohibits instructors from supervising or grading the academic work of a student with whom the instructor has or begins a sexual relationship, however OU does not have a policy prohibiting all relationships between students and professors.
