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Two reports by Michigan State University released Tuesday found that eight former or current employees had received and failed to act upon complaints about Larry Nassar, the former team doctor who sexually abused hundreds of athletes, or William Strampel, the former dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Nassar’s former supervisor.
The university agreed last year to conduct an investigation of 42 employees who may have received notice of Nassar’s abuse or Strampel’s sexual harassment as part of a resolution agreement with the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to improve how the university responds to sexual violence on campus. Thirty-four of the 42 employees investigated were found to have “acted within the then applicable policies and laws” or there was “insufficient evidence” to prove the employees had violated policy or laws at the time, President Samuel Stanley wrote in a letter about the reports to students, staff and faculty members on Sept. 1.
Two employees, including Strampel, did not act upon complaints against Nassar. Gary Stollak, a former professor and psychologist, neglected to report a complaint against Nassar involving child abuse, the Nassar report said.
Six others were found to have violated university policy by their inaction on complaints against Strampel. This included former high-ranking officials at the university such as President Lou Anna Simon; Provost June Youatt; Kari Hortos, associate dean of the college of medicine; and Terry Curry, associate vice president for human resources, according to the report. Simon, Youatt and Curry failed to act upon 30 statements from students and staff members about Strampel’s sexually inappropriate comments and actions toward women in the College of Osteopathic Medicine that were submitted as part of his 2015 yearly review, the Strampel report said.
Most of the eight employees responsible have resigned from their positions, retired or have left the university, but the violations will be marked in their personnel files, Stanley wrote. Simon, who resigned in 2018 and retired in January 2019, was charged with lying to police about her knowledge of a complaint against Nassar, but a judge dismissed the charges in May due to insufficient evidence. Hortos resigned from her position in December 2019, the Strampel report said.
Youatt and Curry, who will serve consultantships and retire by 2022, will receive “minor discipline,” which could include “reprimand, written reprimand, mandatory training, foregoing salary increase, restitution, monitoring of behavior and performance, and/or reassignment of duties,” the Strampel report said.
