LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan State University while making some improvements to how it handles sexual misconduct cases, continues to struggle to manage its current cases according to outside investigators. 

The law firm Cozen O’Connor – which reviewed complaints filed with MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity for the past three years – reports that the university has one of the highest number of sexual misconduct reports in Michigan and several staff vacancies in an already understaffed office. 

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MSU Board of Trustees Chair Dianne Byrum told the Detroit News that the office struggles with a high staff turnover and burnout among employees.  It is responsible for handling complaints of sexual misconduct and discrimination.  

These issuses bear some similaries to problems that MSU encountered in 2016 when former MSU physician Dr. Larry Nassar’s crimes of sexually assaulting female athletes for decades under the pretense of medical assistance came to light.  Since then two presidents have left the university during the scandal and afterwards, former President Lou Anna Simon and interim President John Engler.  Current President Samuel Stanley Jr. has been asked to step down, and is not expected to serve as President beyond his contract’s expiration in July 2024. 

During the 2021-22 school year, 973 students, faculty and staff members filed sexual misconduct reports with MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity according to spokesman Dan Olsen. The university’s total 2021 fall enrollment had roughly 50,000 students and 12,000 employees. 

These reports are nearly double that of the similarly sized rival University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  During the previous years U of M tracked complaints during the July 1-June 30 fiscal period, and reported 530 incidents in fiscal year 2021 and 499 reports in 2020 according to spokesman Rick Fitzgerald.  

By comparison, Wayne State University – with 24,931 students enrolled – reported 95 misconduct reports in 2019, 53 in 2020, and 65 in 2021 according to spokesman Matt Lockwood. 

The law firm Cozen O’Connor currently reviews all Title IX cases investigated by the university since 2019 and reported in the last review – spring 2022 – that the school has overall handled cases better regarding Title IX. However, there are still some issues with timeliness, case oversight, and keeping all parties in the loop. 

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“Given the size of the MSU population, the volume of reports received and the complexity of the issues MSU has navigated over the past several years, we encourage the University to continue to be mindful of the need to provide the Title IX Coordinator with the appropriate support, both in terms of resources and personnel, to be able to effectively tend to the myriad responsibilities under Title IX,” Cozen O’Connor attorney Maureen Holland wrote in the final review.

Despite other cases such as the resignation of Dean of the MSU business school Sanjay Gupta for allegedly failing to report sexual misconduct he knew about, there have been some contributions under President Stanley’s time to counteract misconduct. 

During Stanley’s three-year tenure, there have been several steps made to address sexual misconduct, including creating a crisis chat line for survivors and a free on-campus medical center for sexual assault victims, as well as making it possible to revoke tenure and honorary titles from faculty found to have committed misconduct.