Jonathan McCausland, PhD v. The Pennsylvania State University and Jeanine Staples-Dixon, PhD

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA JONATHAN MCCAUSLAND, PHD, Plaintiff, Civil No. 25-7128 v. THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY and JEANINE STAPLES- DIXON, PHD, Defendants. MEMORANDUM Costello, J. September 18, 2026 Plaintiff Jonathan McCausland is a former graduate student and teaching assistant (“TA”) at Penn State University (“Penn State”). In 2024, Jeanine Staples-Dixon, a tenured professor at Penn State, published a book that disclosed Plaintiff’s childhood sexual abuse. Plaintiff then sued Professor Staples-Dixon and Penn State (collectively,…