University of Chicago professor says her alleged 'sexual predator' colleague never should have been hired

Jason Lieb - a prominent molecular biologist at the University of Chicago - recently resigned after the school accused him of sexually preying on female graduate students.

One of his colleagues told us he never should have been hired in the first place.

Lieb, 43, had faced allegations of sexual misconduct at The University of North Carolina (UNC) and Princeton University, where he previously worked, according to The New York Times.

He had also admitted to having an affair with a female graduate student, according to The Times.

"I think the question of should he have been hired or not ... I would come down to there were enough warning signs that perhaps he shouldn't have been hired," Peggy Mason, a professor in the neurobiology department of the University of Chicago, told Business Insider.

Lieb's resignation is again touching off a debate about the frequency of sexual harassment in higher education - especially in the science community. In September, an astrophysics professor at Caltech was placed on unpaid leave for "unambiguous gender-based harassment," according to a letter from the university president.

It's also raising debate about what colleges must do to prevent these scenarios in the first place.

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