The provision was designed as an accountability measure to ensure that university leaders are aware of instances of sexual misconduct within their institutions, said a Lansing, Michigan-based attorney. said Elizabeth Abdner, who specialized in Title IX cases and worked as a Title IX investigator. Michigan under investigation for Nassar.
“The driving force was that if we had serial predators, we would catch them sooner. I can tell you I didn’t know about it,” she said.
At Michigan State University, some board members believe that the Title IX report review system was not properly followed. One board member, Pat O’Keeffe, told The Detroit News in mid-September that the university “may have submitted a false and misleading Title IX Certificate of Compliance” signed by Dr. Stanley.
Dr. Stanley refuted the accusations, telling faculty members at a September 13 meeting that he had “did adhere to this Michigan accreditation process for the past two years and reviewed all required Title IX reports.”
In June, he added, he was informed that “some of the directors may not actually be complying with some of the state’s requirements in 2021.”
Dr. Stanley’s certification was being investigated by a law firm hired by the board. The investigation found procedural problems and Dr. Stanley recertified the results, the committee said in a statement issued two weeks earlier.
Abdner, an attorney for Lansing, said of the board’s concerns about the accreditation process, “It sounds like a herring to me.” If there is a problem with the signing process, she said it makes more sense to personally raise concerns rather than launch an investigation.