Iowa State student’s sexual harassment lawsuit dismissed

With a September 2024 trial date looming and both sides sparring over discovery, the Story County District Court in January abruptly dismissed an Iowa State University graduate student’s 2022 lawsuit accusing the school, a fellow student, and two professors of sexual harassment, fostering a hostile work environment, gender discrimination, and retaliation.

Chelsea Iennarella-Servantez’ lawsuit — filed April 11, 2022 — was dismissed Jan. 3 without explanation and without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled at some point.

Just days before the dismissal, the defendants had notified the court that Iennarella-Servantez and her attorneys had provided them documents they requested in preparation for trial — documents they’d been waiting more than three months to receive, according to court records.

Iennarella-Servantez, according to her LinkedIn profile, earned a bachelor’s in animal science from Iowa State in 2014; a master’s in animal science in 2017; and was pursuing a doctorate in veterinary medicine when she filed her lawsuit.

A spokeswoman with Iowa State did not immediately respond to The Gazette’s questions about whether she remains enrolled. But online obituaries and social media posts indicate Iennarella-Servantez died over the weekend.

In her lawsuit, Iennarella-Servantez said a fellow research assistant began harassing her in the summer of 2019 upon his arrival in Ames as a visiting scholar from the Czech Republic. The harassment came in the form of frequent hug requests, which Iennarella-Servantez said she denied; questions about why she didn’t have kids yet at “almost 30 years old”; and persistent pressure for emotional intimacy.

At one point, the fellow research assistant called Iennarella-Servantez about a recent breakup and threatened suicide — compelling her to pick him up and stay with him until he felt safe, according to the lawsuit.

Eventually, Iennarella-Servantez told her supervisors the fellow student was “making her uncomfortable” — prompting them to speak with him, but not drop him from the graduate program. When the behavior continued, Iennarella-Servantez continued reporting her concerns to supervisors, who again said they would speak with him, according to the lawsuit.

Iennarella-Servantez said she started going to counseling in July 2020 “due to the increased anxiety” the fellow student was causing and told her supervisors she was taking an antidepressant in addition to weekly therapy, the lawsuit reported.

As the situation escalated, Iennarella-Servantez reported feeling she was being punished for reporting the misconduct through, among other things, inconvenient work hours and project decisions meant to keep the two apart.

An ISU Equal Opportunity Office investigation found the fellow student’s behavior didn’t constitute sexual harassment and he could not be removed from the program, according to the lawsuit.

With the harassment ongoing, Iennarella-Servantez said she sought a “possible leave of absence due to stress,” according to the lawsuit’s allegations, which Iowa State and its fellow defendants denied.

Among its affirmative defenses, Iowa State said it took “prompt remedial action” and Iennarella-Servantez “failed to take advantage of preventive or corrective opportunities.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com