Facebook Brock University Prof. David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye, seen in this undated photo, will return to teaching after a 2016 internal investigation found he had sexually harassed a student.

TORONTO — A Brock University professor who gave one of his students alcohol in his office and made unwanted sexual advances towards her will return to teaching this semester. Prof. David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye will teach a second-year, non-compulsory history class starting next week at the St. Catharines, Ont. school. He has not taught since March 2016, when it came to light that the university had conducted a three-month-long internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations. As with many cases of sexual violence, it seems that the survivor's best interests were not treated as the primary concernEllie Donohue-Miller, The Brock Student Sexual Violence Support Centre The university said in a statement Thursday that it's Schimmelpenninck van der Oye's right to return to the classroom under the faculty's collective agreement and according to a recent legally binding arbitration decision. "The university has put in place a set of conditions associated with Prof. Schimmelpenninck's return to the classroom. He agreed to these conditions and has undertaken steps to meet them, including completing coaching for respectful workplace practices," said the school. This appears to be the first statement Brock University has issued related to Schimmelpenninck van der Oye's return to teaching and came at the request of HuffPost Canada. Students and staff became aware of the change earlier this week when at least one alumnus noted on Facebook that he was listed as an instructor for the class.

"The university refused to tell us what disciplinary action Dr. Schimmelpenninck would receive, would not answer whether he would be returning to Brock, and ultimately did not tell us that he was slated to teach an undergraduate course this term," said Ellie Donohue-Miller, a support service co-ordinator at The Brock Student Sexual Violence Support Centre. "As with many cases of sexual violence, it seems that the survivor's best interests were not treated as the primary concern which they definitely should be." Drinking in professor's office The student, who remains anonymous, spoke to CBC News which first reported on the case. She told the university that in 2014 Schimmelpenninck van der Oye had invited her and a male student to his office after drinking together at a bar. She was eventually alone with the professor, and he gave her another drink before making a sexual advance. She immediately objected. "What was most disturbing to me, however, was that when the incident ended the professor told me it would be a nice arrangement if I were to come by his office once a week to 'make love,' because we were both 'consenting adults,'" she said in a statement that she asked the support centre to share on Facebook in 2016. Brock's internal investigation confirmed the student's claims, including inappropriate touching and sexual comments, according to CBC. She brought the case to the attention of media when the university told her to keep the findings confidential. "I hope that this inspires change at Brock, and that the next person (it is inevitable that there will be others) feels that they are truly supported," she said in 2016. In her statement, the student criticized Brock's handling of the case as prolonged and opaque.