Rutgers Oceanographer Who Rose to Research Dean Is Barred From Campus Over 'Upskirt' Videos

Rutgers University has placed Josh Kohut, the dean of research at its School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, on administrative leave and barred him from its New Brunswick, N.J., campus following his arrest over "upskirt" videos allegedly found on his personal device, the university said.

The university moved to strip Kohut of his campus access as the criminal case against him advances. Officials did not say where or when the videos were recorded, how many recordings investigators recovered, or whether any of the material was connected to the university. Authorities have not publicly detailed the specific charges Kohut faces.

The arrest marks a startling turn for one of the state's most visible ocean scientists. Kohut built his career at Rutgers, joining the faculty of what was then Cook College and rising to prominence in the field of coastal ocean observing. He directed the university's marine field station in Tuckerton, N.J., and became a leading figure in the use of autonomous underwater gliders to study hurricane intensity and the waters of the Mid-Atlantic shelf.

As dean of research at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Kohut oversaw one of the university's largest research portfolios, spanning agriculture, food science, environmental policy and marine science. Much of that work runs through the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, which operates farms, laboratories and extension offices in every corner of the state. The school, headquartered on the George H. Cook campus in New Brunswick, enrolls thousands of undergraduate and graduate students.

Placing a senior administrator on leave and barring him from campus is among the most serious steps a university can take short of termination.

New Jersey law treats so-called upskirting as a form of invasion of privacy. Under the statute, photographing, filming or recording another person's intimate parts without consent, in a setting where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, is a third-degree crime punishable by three to five years in state prison and fines of up to $15,000. Distributing such images can expose a defendant to additional and more severe charges.

Placing a senior administrator on leave and barring him from campus is among the most serious steps a university can take short of termination, and the move signals how gravely Rutgers is treating the allegations. A leave order typically freezes a faculty member's duties, suspends access to laboratories, offices and email systems, and halts supervision of staff and students while a case is pending.

The sudden removal leaves the school to reassign oversight of dozens of active research programs, from federal grant portfolios to long-running field studies along the Jersey Shore. Universities in similar situations typically name an acting or interim dean to keep grant reporting, compliance reviews and faculty research appointments on track while the courts weigh the allegations.

Kohut has not publicly addressed the allegations. He remains on leave and barred from the New Brunswick campus, and the university has not said when it will name a permanent replacement for the research dean post or whether additional disciplinary steps will follow.