Theatre professor out at Salve Regina University after accusations of sexual harassment
The Casino Theatre at Salve Regina University
TW: The following story contains descriptions of sexual harassment.
Following disturbing accusations of sexual harassment by former students, the head of the theatre program at Salve Regina University is no longer employed by the school.
The former students accused Tom Gleadow of videotaping them in various forms of bondage under the guise that they were taking part in a film project at another school.
Officials at Salve Regina confirmed that Gleadow was no longer employed by the college but it’s unclear if he resigned or was fired.
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Gleadow’s behavior first came to light due to a Facebook post by a former Salve Regina student, Kat Witschen. She says (posting here and embedding original post for readers who don’t and do have Facebook access),
“Content warning: I will be talking about one of my experiences with sexual harassment in this post.
This is a very difficult post for me to write but I feel it must be said. In undergrad I had a professor who I loved and worked with a lot. However, when I was 18 he asked me to be a part of a photoshoot for his friend who worked in the film department of another school. It was supposedly for an example of how to create a story board and he was already paid to do this.So my professor said he would split the profit if I helped him, and I was broke so I thought this would be easy money/exposure. I trusted this professor. He worked with every theatre company in Rhode Island and was a respected member of the community. I wanted to impress him and show him that I was easy to work with and that I could be trusted so of course I said yes.
I was very young and trusting but even when he said that we would shoot the story board at his house, it raised a red flag. I ignored it, and continued because everyone else trusted him too.
He asked to bind and gag me because I was playing an FBI agent who was captured by the enemy. And even then, I was very uncomfortable but I swallowed it and continued so I could show I was easy to work with. My character removed herself from the restraints, escaped, and finally the photoshoot was over. My professor paid me and I left his house feeling gross but happy that he seemed happy with the final product.
I can't remember if it happened one or two more times after that but the scenarios definitely escalated. The bondage got worse and the photos became a video. This time he was a participant and pretended to knock me out and even had gross dialogue. Again, he was a director and in charge of casting and my professor so I sucked it up, and did it again against my better judgment. This is what being an actor was right? He also told me not to tell anyone because the other students would get "jealous."
He didn't have a friend in the film department. He kept all of those photos and footage for himself and for his fetish. Not only did he take advantage of an 18-year-old girl but he used his power for his own gross use. He saw me almost every day for four years and would go home and look at that footage.
I never came forward because I blocked out that entire memory. I thought I was the only one and it felt horrible but what could I do? I was never undressed and he never tried anything else so what did it matter? He became a close friend over the ten years I've known him and we worked together on a few plays and musicals so I guess my gamble worked and I could repress that memory and move on.
I learned recently that he has done this for years, to many other young students of his. I don't know them all but some have come forward. The footage has been taken by the police and he was asked to resign from my undergrad.
His name is Tom Gleadow.
I write this so that no one else has to go through what I went through and to emphasize to my fellow actors that you should never swallow your discomfort. He also cannot be allowed to teach or direct anymore. He may not be charged with anything so I want to damn well make sure people know about him. I have no idea how much this escalated with others and if I was the worst of him, or if I got off easy. But I do know that this was an abuse of power and he did not have my consent to use my image for sexual content.
If this happened to anyone else, you can message me and I would be happy to talk to you about next steps or just to talk.”
Tom Gleadow
In Witschen’s post, another former student came forward in the comments section to describe the harassment she experiences from Gleadow. According to sources, two more former students have come forward, bringing the total number to four.
Following the accusations, officials at Salve Regina released the following statement,
“Salve Regina is aware of these deeply concerning allegations and can confirm that Tom Gleadow is no longer employed by the university.
We commend the young women who came forward to report their experiences to the appropriate university staff, which resulted in swift action and outreach to local police.
As the university continues to cooperate with the Newport Police investigation, we encourage any Salve students or graduates who have experienced misconduct to reach out to the Dean of Students.”