> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • Student-Success Resource Center
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

Breaking news from all corners of academe.

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

UVa Had ‘Basis’ for Sexually Hostile Environment, Education Dept. Finds

By  Andy Thomason
September 21, 2015

[Updated (9/21/2015, 3:10 p.m.) with details from the department’s findings.]

After a years-long investigation of sexual assault at the University of Virginia, the U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday

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 allow access to our site, and then 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, please contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

[Updated (9/21/2015, 3:10 p.m.) with details from the department’s findings.]

After a years-long investigation of sexual assault at the University of Virginia, the U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday that “a basis for a hostile environment” existed at the university “during academic years 2008-2009 through 2011-2012, as well as concerning a report filed by a student in 2013 and a report filed by a student in 2014.”

Among the department’s findings, enumerated in a 26-page letter:

  • The university did not have policies compliant with the gender-equity law known as Title IX from 2005 to earlier this year.
  • From 2008 to 2012, the university did not respond promptly and equitably to many complaints that were not filed as formal complaints.
  • The basis for a hostile environment existed for students from 2008 to 2012, and the university didn’t eliminate it.
  • Comments made by the chair of the university’s sexual-misconduct board in a radio broadcast in 2014, in which she explained why the board had not expelled students who admitted responsibility for a sexual assault, contributed to the basis for a hostile environment.

In an agreement with the department’s Office for Civil Rights that settled the investigation, the university did not admit to any of the office’s findings, and did not give up the right to contest them “through all legal or administrative proceedings.”

But in the settlement, also released on Monday, the university agreed to make a series of changes, and to submit them to the office for review. Among them:

  • The university will notify the department if it makes any changes in its sexual-harassment policy, which has been in place since July.
  • The university will disseminate its notice on nondiscrimination and give proof to the department by November 1.
  • By November 1, the university must develop sexual-harassment and sexual-violence training for all students and employees involved in the investigation or resolution of sexual-assault complaints.
  • The university must administer one or more annual climate assessments to students on issues concerning sexual violence.

In a message to the campus announcing the agreement, the university’s president, Teresa A. Sullivan, stressed that its current sexual-harassment policy had been deemed “exemplary” by the department. “By signing a resolution agreement with OCR, we have agreed to take important steps to continue to improve our efforts in this area,” Ms. Sullivan wrote. “We have already implemented many of the measures identified in the resolution agreement, and we will continue to work to strengthen our efforts.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The Charlottesville campus has been at the center of the conversation about campus rape ever since a now-debunked exposé on the issue was published last year in Rolling Stone magazine.

Clarification (9/21/2015, 5:30 p.m.): A previous version of this post said the department had found a “hostile environment” at the university. While the letter does refer to the university’s failure “to eliminate a hostile environment,” it characterizes what it found as “the basis for a hostile environment.” According to a university representative, that means the conditions for a hostile environment may have existed for students who experienced sexual violence.

Clarification (9/23/2015, 11:13 a.m.): We have updated this post to clarify when the agreement said the “basis for a hostile environment” existed at the university, using language drawn directly from the settlement.

Andy Thomason
Andy Thomason is an assistant managing editor at The Chronicle and the author of the book Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics’ Amateur Ideal.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Accessibility Statement
    Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin