An event celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the ASU Origins Project has been cancelled amid an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Lawrence Krauss, ASU officials said.
Amelia Huggins, the executive director at Origins, announced the event’s cancellation in a statement.
“We regret to inform you that the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Origins Project set for April 5-9, 2018 at the Boulders Resort has been canceled,” Huggins said. “Thank you for your continuing interest and support of the Origins Project.”
The Origins Project, which was founded by Krauss in 2008, brought famous scientists to speak at ASU and provided several science-based scholarships to students and faculty.
The cancellation occurred in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations first reported by BuzzFeed.
Krauss has since been placed on paid leave and restricted from ASU campus while an investigation into the allegations is ongoing.
A cached version of a website for the anniversary advertised that a gathering of over a hundred "scholars, artists and public intellectuals" would attend the event. The original website has been removed.
Krauss tweeted out a statement Wednesday, hours after news of the cancelled event. The nine-page statement addressed BuzzFeed's report of the allegations.
"The BuzzFeed article effectively paints a false picture of me and my relationships with others through a mosaic constructed largely out of anonymous hearsay and a web of often vague innuendo," the statement said.
Krauss apologized for "language or demeanor" that may have made some uncomfortable.
"In the current climate, I recognize it is virtually impossible to undo the impact of allegations, true or false, once they have been made public," he wrote. "But if I am to argue that it is important to engage in dialogue, I also need to respond to the claims against me and others that I find false and inappropriate."
This story is developing and will be updated as more information is made available. It was last updated at 8:59 p.m. on March 7, 2018 to include pieces of Krauss's Wednesday response to the allegations.
Reach the reporter at cscragg@asu.edu or follow @monsoonchaser on Twitter.
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