Good morning, and welcome to Monday, September 18. Rick Seltzer wrote today’s Briefing. Julia Piper compiled Comings and Goings. Get in touch: rick.seltzer@chronicle.com.
Michigan State’s sexual-misconduct doom loop
Michigan State University is navigating yet another crisis in large part because its board has failed at culture reform, our David Jesse concludes.
The way Michigan State handled the recently exposed sexual-misconduct allegations against its head football coach, Mel Tucker, sounds all too familiar to critics. Board members were told in December that an allegation existed. But they weren’t given any details, including the name of the person filing the complaint.
- The details: Brenda Tracy, a rape survivor and anti-sexual-assault advocate who’d been hired to share her message with the football team, alleged in part that Tucker masturbated without her consent while she was on the phone with him. Tucker denied wrongdoing, saying they had a consensual relationship.
University leaders learned the details this month, after USA Today wrote about the situation, they said. They weren’t told about the report’s findings when it was finished in July.
The university suspended Tucker less than a day after the USA Today story was published.
The president and trustees avoided details to keep the case at a distance. Trustees had cause to worry about accusations of micromanaging after former President Samuel Stanley Jr. quit last year, accusing the board of meddling in a blistering public video on his way out.
But those concerns don’t entirely explain away the Tucker situation.
- College leaders, including board members, are often told about credible allegations against high-profile employees.
- Michigan State had a chance to discipline Tucker regardless of what any independent investigation found. He acknowledged in March that he had masturbated while talking to her on the phone.
- Misconduct investigations don’t have to proceed as slowly as this one. It took the University of Michigan just over a month to fire then-President Mark Schlissel after it received an allegation in December 2021 that he was in an inappropriate relationship with an employee.
Simply put, Michigan State doesn’t have a culture of accountability and transparency. Board members wouldn’t discuss the situation with The Chronicle. Michigan State’s public-relations department didn’t answer emailed questions about details.
Before the Larry Nassar sexual-abuse scandal broke, Michigan State trustee was a pretty cushy job. Board members, who are publicly elected, traditionally had to decide whether to raise tuition each year but largely deferred to then-President Lou Anna K. Simon’s administration. Simon resigned in 2018 amid the Nassar scandal.
Board members enjoyed perks like status in the State Capitol and access to athletic events, including trips to away games on the university’s dime.
To be sure, the university tried to enact changes after the Nassar scandal. But some didn’t stick, like a new compliance office that was folded into an existing audit department after a few months.
The bigger picture: Culture is exceedingly hard to change, especially after trust evaporates in a crisis. And crises can be particularly wrenching when institutions haven’t established cultures of transparency and accountability during good times. Instead, trust continues to erode in a vicious cycle.
Read David’s full story here.
