U-M creates new ethics, compliance office in wake of sex abuse scandals
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The University of Michigan will form a new ethics, integrity and compliance office in the wake of several high-profile sexual misconduct cases on its Ann Arbor campus.
The formation of the new office is one of new President Santa Ono's first acts in office. It is also a step recommended by an independent law firm hired by the Board of Regents to review U-M's handling of sexual misconduct cases.
"This is an important step in the right direction," Regent Mark Bernstein said during the meeting as he praised Regents Jordan Acker and Denise Ilitch for pushing for this new office. The office will oversee the university's campuses in Dearborn and Flint as well as Michigan Medicine, in addition to its Ann Arbor base.
The move was recommended by Guidepost Solutions, which was hired by the board in the wake of the discovery of sexual misconduct by former football team doctor Robert Anderson and former Provost Martin Philbert. Since the report from Guidepost was created, former President Mark Schlissel was fired for an inappropriate relationship with a female employee. The university had already put into action a number of recommendations from the firm.
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"This type of action builds trust and that's what we need to do," U-M Board Chairman Paul Brown said.
The office will report both to Ono and the university's general counsel. It will also give regular reports to the board. In any situation involving a complaint against the president or a member of the president’s office staff, the compliance office will report to both the regents and to the general counsel.
"I want this new office to support the many efforts already underway," Ono said. “I’ve heard the concerns about how we address compliance and prevent issues of misconduct on campus. I see this new office as an opportunity to widen our focus on an institutional basis. I want it to support the many efforts already underway and the staff who do this important work every day.”
Ono said the office will not have investigatory powers, nor will it serve as a mechanism to hear case appeals or to review decisions by other groups charged with investigations.
Ono said he will work in the next couple of months to develop a full plan and present it to the regents.
"I need to hear from the community on how best to structure this office," he said. "We’ve made important progress, and a central compliance office will be one more step toward keeping our community safe. All this work makes a positive difference.”
Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U-M creates new compliance office in wake of sex abuse scandals
