King’s College fellow and emeritus professor of geophysics, Herbert Huppert, has been stripped of his fellowship following an investigation that upheld allegations of sexual harassment.
Huppert, 82, was excluded from King’s in 2025 following multiple complaints being made against him, including sexual harassment, inappropriate touching, sexualised language, and other misconduct.
The Times reported that at least two people are known to have alerted College authorities about Huppert’s conduct, and sources said there had been concerns about his behaviour for years.
In 2018, the University’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics imposed “access restrictions” on Huppert after earlier allegations about his behaviour. Despite this, he was still in regular attendance at Cambridge events, and was later accused of harassing a female staff member at a formal at Jesus College. Huppert allegedly touched the woman and made sexual suggestions to her.
Huppert’s exclusion from King’s emerged publicly after reporting on a separate investigation into another King’s fellow, Simon Goldhill. The investigation upheld four complaints made by a female student, finding that Goldhill had touched the student sexually without consent, put his tongue in her ear, and given her an unwanted “slobbery kiss”.
Two other women have since come forward with misconduct allegations against Goldhill, which he denies. Goldhill told Varsity: “You should note that the case is still sub judice.”
Goldhill is set to retire at the end of this year, but he could still be given the honorary position of emeritus professor. A tribunal date to determine whether Goldhill will face any disciplinary action has not yet been set.
Varsity previously revealed that colleges were not informed about the investigation into Simon Goldhill.
A King’s spokesperson said: “Professor Huppert is no longer a member or Fellow of King’s College, having been removed following an investigation into formal complaints and a disciplinary process.
“The College does not tolerate harassment or bullying, and formal sanctions will be applied to any member found to have breached our policies. We take all reports of misconduct seriously and welcome reporting, whether made informally or formally, in strict confidence. Any student of the College with concerns is encouraged to contact their Tutor or the Lay Dean.”
A spokesperson for the University told Varsity: “Emeritus Professor Herbert Huppert has been retired since 2011 and has no active association with the University.
“Following allegations of inappropriate behaviour in 2018, the University imposed restrictions on his access to department spaces and events. We also shared information where permissible with organisations to which he was known to have affiliations.
“Given he has not been an employee for 15 years, the University’s ability to pursue further action in relation to him is limited. The University takes the wellbeing of staff and students very seriously and has robust reporting mechanisms in place, as well as a range of support available.”
It is unclear whether Huppert challenged the allegations against him.
Huppert – who had been a fellow at King’s since 1970 – retired from full-time academia in 2011, but was listed as an emeritus professor in Cambridge’s Institute of Theoretical Geophysics until the webpage was taken down last week.
It appears that details about the restrictions that the University imposed on Huppert in 2018 were not passed on to King’s. The College has not confirmed whether it informed the central university authorities about its 2025 investigation.
The Cambridge student group End Sexual Violence (ENDSV) commented: “In light of the recent reporting concerning Herbert Huppert, we want once again to stress the need for the University of Cambridge to review and strengthen its procedures for responding to sexual misconduct.”
The group said the University’s systems must “effectively protect students, hold staff accountable, and provide clear and transparent processes”.
ENDSV said of the cases of both Goldhill and Huppert: “Concerns have also been raised about communication between the University and individual colleges in these cases. We believe the University should take steps to improve consistency and transparency in communication to prioritise student welfare and safety.
“The University needs to communicate all complaints about, and actions taken against, staff members to the relevant colleges, to ensure that those colleges can protect their students. We also believe that measures such as “access restrictions” should be regularly reviewed to ensure they are effective and centred on protecting students.”
An email sent to all King’s students on 10 April, following the publication of the initial article in The Times about Goldhill, said: “The College is waiting for information on the case from the University, which will inform any decisions on what actions the College might take, but we have not received that yet.”
Gillian Tett, the provost of King’s College, allegedly only became aware of the findings of the investigation into Goldhill when reading The Times. Tett was only able to obtain a copy of the report from the university authorities in April, despite it being produced in February.
King’s College Students’ Union (KCSU) has published an open letter demanding an open meeting with the senior officers of the College “in light of the recent sexual harassment case brought against Simon Goldhill and the wider reality of the culture perpetuating this”.
The open letter expresses that the “KCSU is appalled, but not shocked, to hear of the charges brought against Simon Goldhill”. It demands “processes that actually protect students”.
The letter continues: “Today we have received an email about misogyny – we will not tolerate a culture where this misogyny is writable. Emails from college condemning such behaviour are welcome and reassuring – but they are not sufficient.”
The letter ends: “Being informed is not enough. We need to be actively involved in the processes ostensibly concerned with our protection.”
In light of Huppert’s case, KCSU told Varsity: “This is the second time in under six weeks national press has revealed to the King’s community a fellow’s sexual misconduct. This is becoming a worrying pattern, making it increasingly clear institutional and cultural change is necessary. We are in constructive conversation with officers of the college to address the root of this issue, through engagement with the student body.”
Anna Bull from The 1752 Group, which campaigns against sexual harassment on university campuses, said: “Protecting the data of harassers is somehow seen as more important than student and staff safety. Complainants are often not kept informed about what happens and this is incredibly distressing. They can end up feeling that reporting was a waste of time.
“At Cambridge, these issues are compounded by the complex structure of colleges within the university. The Equality and Human Rights Commission states that employers ‘should not assume that disclosure of the harasser’s personal data will amount to a breach of the GDPR’.”
Bull added: “Cambridge is not alone in throwing a veil of secrecy over these issues. It happens all too often with a few exceptions where universities take a more open approach.”
Huppert is also a fellow of the Royal Society – the UK’s national academy of sciences – and was awarded its royal medal in 2020, two years after concerns about his sexual misconduct restricted his access to Cambridge.
The Royal Society is investigating the award given to Huppert “for outstanding contribution to science,” given that the medal was granted despite the society having been informed by members of the University that Huppert had been subjected to “access restrictions” over concerns about his conduct.
Varsity understands that in June 2020, a senior Cambridge academic had a phone call with a director at the Royal Society, and later briefed four society representatives on a Zoom call. Information was shared about Huppert’s misconduct and restrictions placed on him by his department at the University, although the society was told that no formal investigation had taken place.
The Royal Society told Varsity: “The Royal Society is now aware of reports of an investigation of allegations against Professor Huppert which has resulted in disciplinary action. We will be investigating these matters.”
The society added: “There has been no formal communication from Cambridge University to the Royal Society relating to any specific allegations made against Professor Huppert.” They said there had only been “informal communications” with “individual academics”.
Between 2022 and 2023, Huppert was also a governor of King’s College School, an independent school with links to the College.
Herbert Huppert was contacted for comment.
