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The University of Utah will pay the parents of a murdered international student from China a $5 million settlement for the university’s failure to protect their daughter, the university announced Tuesday.
The student, Zhifan Dong, was killed last February, allegedly by an abusive boyfriend with whom she’d broken up and against whom she had gotten a restraining order. Dong and her roommate had complained to campus housing staff about harassment and threats from Haoyu Wang, who was also an international student from China and lived in the same dorm as Dong, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Dong also told campus housing officials Wang hit her when she broke up with him and that she was afraid he would harm her, the newspaper reported.
“Our campus continues to mourn the death of Zhifan Dong,” University of Utah president Taylor Randall said in a joint statement with Dong’s parents. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our seriousness in honoring Zhifan Dong and reaffirming our commitment to the ongoing work of addressing all aspects of student safety.
“Her murder is a reminder that intimate partner violence is a societal problem that transcends borders and cultures, and manifests in many ways,” Randall added. “No one should have to endure the loss of a child to violence and our university will remain diligent, continue to improve, and advance the health and well-being of our students.”
The university had already acknowledged “shortcomings in its response” to Dong’s complaints, including “insufficient and unprofessional communications, a need for clarity in the training of housing workers and a delay in notifying university police,” among other failures it listed in a public statement released in July 2022. “These immediate deficiencies have all been addressed, including corrective actions with employees.”
The acknowledgment was part of the results of what the university statement on Tuesday described as “an exhaustive review of how its Housing and Residential Education team, Utah Global office and public safety department handled the days and weeks leading up to Dong’s murder.”
The settlement proposal became public Tuesday as part of a resolution filed by the Utah State Legislature to approve the amount, according to the Tribune. State law requires legal settlements exceeding $1 million and involving a state entity, including a public university, to be voted on by lawmakers. A hearing on the agreed settlement has not yet been scheduled, but the legislation is expected to be approved by lawmakers before the session ends next week, the Tribune reported.
