There are times when events in academia are so incredible--so outrageous, so stupid, so petty, so cliched, so perfectly twisted--that they seem more closely related to fiction than to real life. This morning is one of those times.

From the Memphis Flyer, which also notes how this particular truth sounds like it stepped out of a softcore novel, I bring you the tale of Carey Walsh, an ex-assistant professor of religion at Rhodes College who has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the school after being denied tenure. The suit alleges that a senior woman colleague repeatedly harassed Walsh, and states that Walsh's refusal to yield to unwanted sexual pressure adversely affected her tenure case:

In a lawsuit that reads like a steamy sex novel, a former professor of religion at Rhodes College says she was denied tenure partly because she rebuffed repeated aggressive lesbian overtures from a department colleague.

Carey Walsh, who taught religion at Rhodes from 1996-2002, filed suit in federal court against Rhodes. Although she is not named as a defendant, the colleague is mentioned by name throughout the 22-page lawsuit and alleged to have made numerous sexual overtures to Walsh and to have "outed" her without her consent.

[...]

"During her review year, (the colleague) physically molested Professor Walsh frequently, by summoning her for private meetings in which she would touch, kiss, and rub various parts of Professor Walsh's body, such as her neck, lower back, knees, shins, and inner thighs," the suit says. "(the colleague) called Professor Walsh pet names, such as 'deary' and 'missy' and make (sic) lewd comments about fondling breasts, oral sex, and her students."

In a sort of X-rated update of William Buckley's 1951 conservative classic God and Man at Yale, Walsh says the religion department at Rhodes, which has historic ties to the Presbyterian church, is a hotbed of liberalism, atheism, and feminism with a dash of lesbianism for good measure.

[...]

Walsh, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Allegheny College, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Chicago, was up for her tenure review during is sixth year of teaching in 2002. She is the author of two books, Exquisite Desire: Religion, the Erotic, and the Song of Songs and The Fruit of the Vine: Viticulture in Ancient Israel.

The lawsuit says Walsh was a popular and ffective teacher who got good erformance reviews. "She generated excitement, and caught any students wanting a mentor," the suit says.

[...]

Walsh apparently agonized over her decision to sue. A little over a month ago, she wrote an email to colleagues. A copy was sent anonymously to The Flyer, which did not publicize it. It asks her "esteemed Rhodians" to comment about her plight but omits most of the details that are in the lawsuit. Walsh laments that "the Disappeared from Rhodes never get a voice, they're just told to clean out their office and not take anything."

In the lawsuit, she claims the heavy sexual innuendo, touching, and aggressive overtures went on for several months, sometimes in front of other faculty members. She said she notified other department members and "they debated whether it was sexual harassment" and suggested Walsh keep a log in case it continued.

She said the colleague also made lewd comments about students. And she says other colleagues in her department sided with her tormentor, calling her "C.U.N.T." for "See You Next Time."

Walsh alleges that when she asked them to stop, her tormentors replied that it was "fun" to get a reaction out of her and one of them said, "besides, I've been sexually harassing you for years now and nothing's happened." The suit says she is now under the care of a psychiatrist.

The lawsuit says Rhodes is "vicariously liable" for the acts of Walsh's colleague and discriminated against Walsh in violation of federal and state laws.

This one has Movie of the Week written all over it.