> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Ticker circle logo

The Ticker: 5 Damning Findings From the Baylor Investigation

Breaking news from all corners of academe.

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

5 Damning Findings From the Baylor Investigation

By  Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez
May 26, 2016

Baylor University on Thursday released a summary of a long-awaited investigative report into its handling of sexual-assault allegations — and, with it, word of a housecleaning of sorts. Its president, Kenneth W. Starr, was reassigned. Its head football coach, Art Briles, was fired. And its athletic director, Ian McCaw, was put on probation.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Baylor University on Thursday released a summary of a long-awaited investigative report into its handling of sexual-assault allegations — and, with it, word of a housecleaning of sorts. Its president, Kenneth W. Starr, was reassigned. Its head football coach, Art Briles, was fired. And its athletic director, Ian McCaw, was put on probation.

A glance at the investigation’s findings reveals why Baylor’s governing board took such broad action. In short, virtually everything that could be wrong with a university’s treatment of sexual assault was wrong at Baylor. Here are five damning findings on Baylor’s enforcement of the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX, based on Baylor’s summary of the report, by Pepper Hamilton LLC:

1. Administrators were ill equipped to enforce Title IX.

Administrators who handled Title IX complaints before November 2014 did not fully understand the complexities of reporting sexual violence on the campus given the Baptist institution’s policies prohibiting alcohol and premarital sex.

And, at times, the summary says, administrators actually discouraged students from participating in Baylor’s Title IX processes. They also engaged in “victim-blaming, focusing on the complainant’s choices and actions, rather than robustly investigating the allegations, including the actions of the respondent.”

ADVERTISEMENT

2. The athletics staff went rogue.

When reports of sexual assaults by multiple football players surfaced, athletics and football personnel chose to not report the cases to administrators outside the athletics department, the summary says.

During those cases, football coaches or staff members met with complainants or parents of complainants directly, and didn’t report the misconduct. The complainants were not supported, and cases went unevaluated under Title IX, the summary says, because the football team did not disclose them to other university administrators.

At times the football staff window-dressed appropriate responses to complaints, but ultimately it did not provide meaningful responses under Title IX policies.

3. Baylor helped facilitate transfers with no questions asked.

ADVERTISEMENT

Baylor didn’t do its due diligence in vetting incoming transfer athletes, and helped several of its own athletes go elsewhere. In at least one case, the summary says, the university failed to find criminal or student-conduct information for a transfer athlete admitted to the program.

The football program also sometimes dismissed players for unspecified team violations and then helped them transfer to other colleges.

4. The university utterly failed to assert its authority over the athletics staff in enforcing Title IX compliance.

University leaders were, in part, to blame for the cultural perception that football was “above the rules,” the summary says.

Pepper Hamilton’s finding is most heavily underlined by one of its recommendations for policy changes at Baylor. In that document, the investigators urge the Board of Regents to “ensure that the president and the athletics director have appropriate authority over department personnel.”

ADVERTISEMENT

5. Baylor lacked basic Title IX policies.

Since the U.S. Department of Education began a new wave of federal enforcement of Title IX, in 2011, colleges and universities have rushed to carry out the department’s guidance on how to handle reported assaults. Baylor, apparently, lagged behind.

According to the summary, Baylor didn’t provide proper training about its Title IX policies to students, and didn’t train employees either, until the 2014-15 academic year. And it was only in November 2014 that the position of Baylor’s Title IX coordinator — now a mainstay across higher education — was not assigned to a senior administrator who had other full-time duties.

Read the summary and the recommendations.

For more, see these Chronicle articles.

Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez
Fernanda is newsletter product manager at The Chronicle. She is the voice behind Chronicle newsletters like the Weekly Briefing, Five Weeks to a Better Semester, and more. She also writes about what Chronicle readers are thinking. Send her an email at fernanda@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin