Dr. Richard Aslin, a founding member of the department who left Rochester in protest of the university’s handling of the investigation, said Mr. Seligman’s resignation was evidence that the complainants’ actions were justified.

Image Dr. T. Florian Jaeger, a professor in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences department, had been accused of sexual harassment by a number of students. Credit... University of Rochester

“We take no satisfaction in the disruption that this case has triggered,” he said. “But that disruption was the result not just of one faculty member’s behavior, but rather a systemic bias that put students at risk.”

Dr. Kidd, Dr. Aslin, five other current and former professors, and one graduate student jointly filed a complaint against the university with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in August. The complaint, and a federal lawsuit filed in December, said Dr. Jaeger had for years harassed and intimidated students and colleagues, and that administrators had punished professors who reported his behavior.

In September, after weeks of student protests and demands that administrators resign, the university’s board of trustees announced that it had placed Dr. Jaeger on leave. (A university spokeswoman said on Thursday that his leave would continue.) It also hired Mary Jo White, a former chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and former United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, to reinvestigate the claims in the complaint.

But the professors who had filed the federal complaint questioned Ms. White’s independence. None of the original complainants agreed to be interviewed by her, citing concerns about bias and their ongoing suit against the university.

Ms. White defended the integrity of her investigation, adding that although she did not speak directly to the original complainants, she reviewed statements and correspondence they had previously provided to university officials.

“People feel, as they should, very strongly about these issues,” Ms. White said in an interview. “It’s just really important to distinguish between allegations and proof.”