Case In Point: Lessons for the proactive manager

Volume 14 Number 11 | November 2022

Quotable .....

“Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect.”

-- Stephen Covey

On November 9, 2022, as part of Compliance & Ethics Week, we held AU’s first ever Compliance Summit. Over 150 people attended, and they all play important roles in helping AU maintain regulatory compliance. The attendees represented a wide range of units including Student Affairs, Financial Services, AA/EEO, HR, Athletics, and many more. The feedback from this event, which included keynote speaker, Kristy Grant-Hart, and remarks from President Chris Roberts and AU Board of Trustees Audit & Compliance Committee Chair, Tim Vines, has been overwhelmingly positive.

Compliance isn’t a topic many people like to discuss; they may even assume it’s boring. However, it is vital for everyone to consider. Higher education is arguably the most regulated industry around. Compliance failures result in valuable resources going toward fines, litigation, and settlements, rather than our primary mission of teaching, research, and outreach.

While the attendees of the Compliance Summit have direct compliance responsibilities in their job descriptions, everyone—no matter their title or position—has a role in maintaining compliance. With that in mind, here are three basic tips for ensuring you don’t become a compliance headline:

Know the policies and regulations relevant to your role at the institution. If you aren’t clear on any of these, ask someone for help. If you are unsure of who to ask, come to us in OACP, and we will assist you.
If you become aware of a compliance failure, let the appropriate people know. Awareness without action is a dangerous thing for all institutions. If you don’t know where to go, come to us in OACP, and we will assist you.
If something doesn’t make sense, ask more questions. It’s much easier to prevent compliance issues than remediate them. Sometimes those additional questions can prevent the wrong course of action from being taken.

As always, we invite you to review the issues occurring in higher education with a view toward proactive action. We always welcome your feedback and suggestions.

M. Kevin Robinson, CIA, CFE
Associate Vice President
Office of Audit, Compliance & Privacy
Follow us on Twitter

Pictured (Left to Right) at 2022 Compliance Summit : AU Board Member Tim Vines, Keynote Speaker Kristy Grant-Hart, AVP Kevin Robinson, AU President Chris Roberts

Information Security & Technology Events

Nov 26: Website Glitch: A temporary system glitch in a school website potentially allowed University of Maine at Augusta students to change their grades and view confidential information, school officials discovered this week. They learned of the problem in the Brightspace Learning Management System on Thursday morning. They traced the issue back to a process the University of Maine System uses to synchronize user accounts between its student information system and Brightspace. The breach affected 242 user accounts, according to system spokesperson Margaret Nagle, adding that appropriate account accesses were restored to those accounts by Saturday afternoon. (link)

Nov 23: Data Breach: On November 8, 2022, Mercyhurst University reported a data breach with the Maine Attorney General after the school learned that an unauthorized party was able to access sensitive information belonging to certain students and faculty members. According to Mercyhurst, the breach resulted in the names and Social Security numbers of affected parties being compromised. Recently, Mercyhurst sent out data breach letters to all affected parties, informing them of the incident and what they can do to protect themselves from identity theft and other frauds. (link)

Nov 01: Ransomware: A threat group known as Vice Society has been switching ransomware payloads in attacks targeting the education sector across the United States and worldwide. While this isn't necessarily new information, since the group is known for using multiple ransomware strains in some attacks, Microsoft has also seen them use this tactic against organizations in the U.S. education sector between July and October 2022. (link)

Fraud & Ethics Related Events

Nov 29: Scientific Misconduct: A prominent research journal is reviewing a paper co-authored by the Stanford University President for scientific misconduct following public allegations that the research contains multiple altered images. Three other papers published in Science and Nature by the University president also contain "serious problems," according to Elisabeth Bik, a biologist and science misconduct investigator routinely featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The New Yorker and Nature, who was contacted by The Daily last month to review several separate allegations. (link)

Nov 11: Fraud: Two collegiate athletes were convicted today before U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson for transferring thousands of dollars to Nigeria as part of a complex fraud scheme. The scheme involved Track and Field athletes from multiple higher learning institutions in the United States, with part of the conspiracy being operated out of Hattiesburg while the defendants were Track and Field teammates at William Carey University. William Carey University was cooperative throughout the investigation. (link)

Nov 10: Admissions Scandal: The former Yale University women’s soccer coach was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for accepting bribes to facilitate the admission of students to Yale as purported athletic recruits. The coach was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to five months in prison and one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $19,000 fine and forfeiture of $557,774. Beginning in April 2015, the coach conspired with William "Rick" Singer to falsely designate the children of Singer’s clients as soccer recruits in exchange for bribes. (link)

Nov 09: Embezzlement: A man, who stole more than $320,000 from East Central University while working as the school’s bursar, was arrested by the U.S. marshals at his mother’s house in Ada on Monday morning, more than two and a half years after a warrant had been issued for his arrest. The man was charged March 7, 2020, with embezzlement and computer fraud after he admitted to ECU officials and police that he had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits and sporting event receipts from the university, beginning in August 2019. (link)

Nov 03: Identity Fraud: One year after the University of Saskatchewan found itself in the midst of a national scandal around the issue of Indigenous identity, it has released a detailed independent report it commissioned outlining the extent of the problem and how to fix it. Last October, CBC published a report raising doubts about a U of S professor's claims to Indigenous ancestry. She was suspended from her role at the university and resigned earlier this year. (link)

Nov 01: Bribery: A Florida man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Springfield in connection with paying bribes to receive contracts for work at a college in New York. The man was a principal of DWD Builders, a general contracting firm, from 2018 to 2019. During this time, he paid bribes to a co-conspirator, who held positions involving facility maintenance at a New York college, in exchange for preference in obtaining contracts for construction, repair, maintenance, and other work for the college. (link)

Compliance/Regulatory & Legal Events

Nov 24: Wrongful Death Lawsuit: The parents of Katie Meyer, a star soccer goalie who died by suicide last spring, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stanford on Wednesday. At the time of her death Meyer, 21, was facing disciplinary action for allegedly spilling coffee on a Stanford football player who was accused of sexually assaulting a female soccer player. Meyer's father said his daughter was defending that teammate, who was a minor at the time. The lawsuit states that on the night of her death, Stanford "negligently and recklessly" sent her the formal disciplinary notice that "contained threatening language regarding sanctions and potential 'removal from the university.'" (link)

Nov 22: Breach of Contract Lawsuit: A divided appeals court Tuesday rejected a potential class-action lawsuit contending that the University of Florida should return fees to students because of a campus shutdown early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal came as a similar case is pending at the Florida Supreme Court. The 2nd District Court of Appeal reached a different conclusion in that case, which was filed against the University of South Florida. The decision Tuesday said an Alachua County circuit judge should have dismissed a lawsuit filed by University of Florida graduate student Anthony Rojas. (link)

Nov 18: Deceptive Practices Lawsuit: In a lawsuit filed Thursday against Seattle University, four former and current students say the school was deceptive, promising a degree that none of the students ever received. The students were enrolled in a doctorate program but believed they’d be able to attain a master's in nursing. Attorney Andrew Ackley filed a lawsuit Thursday against the school. In it, four students accuse the university of doing a lot more than betraying them. They said the school’s actions were so egregious they constitute deceptive practices, negligent misrepresentation and even fraud. (link)

Nov 17: Child Sex Charges: A cross-country coach at Wilkes University faces child sex charges. Officials say, the coach, from Kingston, was meeting with who he thought was a 15-year-old girl for sex. Conversations, including sexual and graphic conversation, were turned over to the police. He was fired from his coaching position at Wilkes earlier this week. (link)

Nov 16: Title VI Lawsuit: Former University at Albany men’s basketball player Luke Fizulich has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Great Danes head coach, athletic director and the university, stemming from a pre-game incident involving the player and coach in November 2021. Filed earlier this week, the lawsuit alleges that, under pressure from local business and civil rights leaders who were "rallied up" by a public relations firm that the coach associated himself with, the AD and the university succumbed "to the pressure of the protest" and reversed its initial decision to terminate the coach, who is Black, and did not discuss the change with Fizulich, who is white. (link)

Nov 16: Sexual Misconduct: Police in Rock Hill say a recruiter for a college in South Carolina is facing a felony charge after he allegedly sent a high school student sexually explicit photos two days after a college fair. According to the Rock Hill Police Department, officers got a tip about an incident involving a local student last Wednesday and started investigating. They learned that during a college fair earlier that week, an admissions counselor at Newberry College obtained the student’s contact information and used it to start talking to the student. (link)

Nov 11: Wrongful Termination Settlement: A former College of DuPage president is expected to receive a $4 million settlement after leaving under a cloud of controversy more than seven years ago, according to records released by the school. The deal would resolve a federal lawsuit between Robert Breuder and the community college, ending an expensive, years long legal battle in which the parties accused each other of malfeasance. The school’s insurance carrier will pay the ex-administrator more than five times the amount of his original severance package. (link)

Nov 10: Grant Disclosure Requirements: The Ohio State University (OSU), a public university in Columbus, Ohio, has paid $875,689 to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose an OSU professor’s affiliations with and support from a foreign government in connection with federal research funding. This settlement relates to Army, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Science Foundation (NSF) grants and research support agreements that provided funding to OSU from November 2012 to August 2020. (link)

Nov 08: Title VI/Discrimination Lawsuit: A newly filed federal civil-rights complaint accuses 12 Oklahoma colleges of illegally discriminating against students based on race and national origin via a program that specifically excludes students based on those traits. "Oklahoma’s institutions of higher education shouldn’t be complicit in advertising and sponsoring academic programs that discriminate on the basis of race," said Laura Morgan, a registered nurse who is program manager for Do No Harm, a group of medical professionals. (link)

Nov 08: Discrimination Lawsuit: Two former University of Akron professors have accused the university of discriminating against them because of their race and nationality during layoffs that came with pandemic-related budget cuts in 2020, according to a lawsuit filed last week. Aigbe Akhigbe, a man born in Nigeria, and Bhanu Balasubramnian, a woman from India, filed the lawsuit Nov. 3 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. At issue is the method which the dean and associate dean of the College of Business Administration used to rank employees for a reduction in force made necessary by a 30% budget cut due to the pandemic, according to the complaint. (link)

Nov 07: Gender Bias & Retaliation: The former dean of Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law did not have tenure and thus was not entitled to certain job protections, state officials said in a motion to dismiss her gender bias and retaliation lawsuit. Joan Bullock in September sued the university’s board of regents in Houston federal court, claiming she was ousted in June without cause and stripped of her tenured faculty position afterward even though male deans in the past were allowed to remain on the faculty after their deanships ended. (link)

Nov 06: Child Pornography: Some University of Iowa students are shocked after a former university employee was sentenced to federal prison after possessing and distributing child pornography. The investigation began after a social media application received a cyber tip indicating child pornography was uploaded to its site. As the investigation progressed, it was revealed that the man "distributed, received, and possessed over 18,000 images and 14,000 videos containing child pornography from 2016 to 2021" the release states. According to the employee’s LinkedIn account, he formerly served as a graduate research assistant for the UI’s Physics and Astronomy Department. (link)

Nov 04: Driving While Impaired: Queens University has suspended its head men’s basketball coach following a driving while impaired arrest last weekend. According to records, the coach was booked at the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office at 12:04 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30. He has since bonded out of jail. A representative with the Charlotte university told media that the coach has been suspended for the first five games of the upcoming season. (link)

Nov 04: Sexual Misconduct: A Washington State University police sergeant who engaged in sexual activity while on duty has resigned from the university. The individual, who had been on home assignment while the allegations were investigated, submitted his resignation effective Tuesday, Nov. 1. The university investigation found that the sergeant engaged in predatory grooming behavior while in a supervisory role, made sexually explicit comments to coworkers, subjected coworkers to nonconsensual physical contact, and engaged in sexual activities while on duty and on university property. (link)

Nov 04: Civil Monetary Penalties Law: After they self-disclosed conduct to OIG, the Curators of the University of Missouri on behalf of University of Missouri Health Care and University Physicians (collectively, "CUMHC"), Missouri, agreed to pay $100,000 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law including provisions applicable to kickbacks. OIG alleged that the CUMHC provided remuneration to 102 community physicians in the form of free continuing medical education and meals. (link)

Nov 03: Discrimination: An external law firm is investigating the Tufts admissions office following complaints from employees who allege discrimination on the part of office leadership, according to current and former admissions officers and emails obtained by the Daily. Since the arrival of the current Dean of Admissions in fall 2019, employees allege that the office has suffered from questionable leadership, abrupt departures, retaliation and behavior from the dean that employees characterized as racist, sexist, transphobic and antisemitic. (link)

Nov 01: Animal Safety: On Friday, a Pullman couple who was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty pleaded guilty in front of Judge Gary Libey of Whitman County Superior Court. In March, the investigation into the two began as the police found the following dead animals: one dog, four sugar gliders, three ferrets, one rat, one mouse, one bearded dragon, one gecko, and one ball python, as well as nine animals who were still alive, according to a Pullman Police Department press release. The animals were allegedly brought to the apartment from the woman’s place of work, Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, according to Pullman Radio. (link)

Campus Life & Safety Events

Nov 28: Harassment & Racism: A University of Toronto -- Mississauga Campus professor has been accused of and found guilty of sexual harassment and racism. The University of Toronto conducted an external investigation after the submission of a 72-page written report detailing his abuse and gross misconduct by two students in 2020. The investigators found that the allegations under the University’s Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy were factually substantiated. Despite the findings of the investigation, the professor continues to work in the University, he is currently employing students for a research lab, and will teach 2 undergraduate courses next semester. (link)

Nov 28: Worker Strike: As the nation’s largest ever strike of higher-education academic workers enters its third week Monday, with the crunch time of final exams just days away, fears are rising over long-lasting and unintended consequences to the University of California’s core missions of teaching and research. Faculty in particular are worried that higher labor costs to meet the salary demands of the 48,000 striking workers, without more state or federal funding to pay for them, could force cutbacks in hiring graduate students -- jeopardizing the research they conduct and the academic experiences of the undergraduates they help teach. (link)

Nov 28: Shooting: One person was killed and another four injured in a shooting at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee on Sunday, according to police. The school’s police department is working with Tallahassee police to investigate the shooting at an outdoor basketball court on campus at around 4:30 p.m., a statement from the university said. "One victim, an adult male, died as a result of this shooting. Four other victims, one juvenile male and three adult males, sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious," the statement added. None of the victims involved appear to be Florida A&M students, the university said. (link)

Nov 28: Campus Threat: A man has been arrested after "multiple" online threats were allegedly made against a downtown Toronto university. Toronto police said threats were made online on both Saturday and Sunday against Toronto Metropolitan University. Officers executed a search warrant in association with Hamilton police’s tactical unit on Monday. Multiple electronic devices were taken and a man was arrested in relation to the threats, according to police. (link)

Nov 23: Unlawful Photography: A man was arrested Monday after filming a University of Tennessee student using the restroom, an incident report obtained by WVLT News states. The incident happened at the Student Union, the report said. An officer arrived on scene and spoke to a man, 21, who was accused of taking the video of the student using the restroom. The man denied filming anyone, the report said, but the victim, a minor, reportedly had a video of their own showing the suspect pointing his camera at them while they used the restroom. After speaking with the officer, the suspect allegedly admitted to filming the victim while he used the urinal. (link)

Nov 23: Assault: Seven Michigan State football players have been charged in the postgame melee in Michigan Stadium's tunnel last month, according to a statement Wednesday from the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office. No Michigan players are facing charges. Scuffles broke out in the Michigan Stadium tunnel on Oct. 29 after the then-No. 4 Wolverines beat the Spartans 29-7. Social media posts showed Michigan State players pushing, punching and kicking Michigan's Ja'Den McBurrows in and near a hallway that doesn't lead to either locker room. (link)

Nov 21: Shooting: According to an arrest affidavit, New Mexico State Police have arrested a 19-year-old in connection to the deadly shooting on the University of New Mexico campus Saturday that left Brandon Travis deceased and New Mexico State basketball player Mike Peake in an Albuquerque hospital with a gunshot to his leg. Police said Travis had conspired with a 17-year-old girl to lure Peake to campus as the Aggies were slated to play New Mexico on Saturday night. Travis and the girl conspired to lure Peake to the UNM campus and "jump" him as retribution for a fight that involved Peake, Travis, Smith and an individual identified as 'Eli', during last month's UNM/NM State football game at Aggie Memorial Stadium on Oct. 15. (link)

Nov 21: Racial Issues: Local lawmakers said they are set to meet with the president of the University of Illinois about allegations of racist teachings at UIC's College of Dentistry. In a letter to the school, Congressman Danny Davis, Congresswoman Robin Kelly and State Rep. LaShawn Ford said they received several complaints from students. The allegations include accusations that one professor used a racial slur and asked about a student of color's "natural hair," and that racist imagery is used in class, including a picture of someone with a noose around the neck. (link)

Nov 21: Bus Crash: A shuttle bus carrying Brandeis University students back to campus from a hockey game at Northeastern University left one student dead and 27 others injured on Saturday night. The Waltham Police Department identified the student who died as Vanessa Mark. "The preliminary investigation suggests that the bus crashed into a tree on South Street at approximately 10:32 p.m." (link)

Nov 18: Campus Conditions: Heating problems have become so persistent at a CUNY community college that administrators have moved most classes online as temperatures outside hover in the 30s and 40s. A spokesperson for Bronx Community College said the heating issues were "intermittent" and all classes except for lab classes -- like nursing and clinical radiography -- were moved online starting Nov. 16 through the school’s Thanksgiving holiday. The campus initially had no heat for several weeks this fall, even though New York City law requires heat be provided from Oct. 1 through May 31 in residential and commercial buildings. (link)

Nov 18: Stalking: Arguments between coaches and players are nothing new in college football, but one former NC State player allegedly took it way too far. A former Wolfpack defensive lineman has been charged with threatening and stalking current head coach Dave Doeren, according to a report from WRAL News in Raleigh, NC. The arrest followed an alleged tweet that appeared to directly threaten Doeren and members of his coaching staff. (link)

Nov 17: Academic Freedom: A federal judge in Florida on Thursday blocked a law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in colleges. The law prohibits teaching or business practices that contend members of one ethnic group are inherently racist and should feel guilt for past actions committed by others. It also bars the notion that a person's status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race or gender, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity. (link)

Nov 16: Theft: Thieves are continuing to target catalytic converters as police, lawmakers, and even colleges consider how to combat them. "It sounded like a coal truck going down a hill," said Marvin Baker about the sound of his granddaughter's car after the catalytic converter was stolen. She is one of at least 26 people who have reported a catalytic converter being stolen on the University of Kentucky campus. The thefts have taken place mainly in surface lots and nearby streets. Students and staff have to pay for parking permits, which for the Red Lot goes for $272 annually. (link)

Nov 15: Academic Freedom: EN America today called a dean’s threat to punish a professor at Georgia’s Valdosta State University in response to a parent’s complaint about a biology lecture "outrageous" and an infringement on academic freedom. The introductory biology course, "Evolution and the Diversity of Life," which was taught by professor Leslie Jones, included a lecture entitled "Cultural Construction of Gender." After a parent allegedly told Dean Pierre-Richard Cornely that "he didn’t want his daughter being taught that woke [expletive]," Cornely instructed Jones to alter her lesson or be reassigned. In response to criticism, the university suggested that the lesson might not be "consistent with the published catalog description of [the] course." (link)

Nov 14: Campus Threats: The investigation of racially motivated threats of violence targeting historically Black colleges and universities has identified one juvenile believed to be responsible for a majority of the threats and the Department of Justice has worked with state prosecutors to hold the minor accountable. Since January 2022, more than 50 HBCUs, houses of worship, and other faith-based and academic institutions across the country have received racially motivated threats of violence. Because of the subject’s age, no additional information can be provided. The FBI is continuing to investigate additional unrelated threats that appear to have originated overseas. (link)

Nov 14: Homicide: Four students at the University of Idaho were found dead near campus in what a local official described on Monday as a "crime of passion." Art Bettge, the mayor of Moscow, Idaho, said in an interview that the authorities were still investigating what had transpired but that the case was being treated as a homicide. He said the authorities did not believe that there was a "perceivable danger to the broader public," but he declined to say how the victims had been killed or whether a suspect was at large. The University of Idaho confirmed that all the victims were students and canceled classes on Monday. (link)

Nov 15: Worker Strike: Tens of thousands of academic employees across the University of California’s 10 campuses walked off the job Monday, demanding better pay and benefits in what union leaders say could be the largest work stoppage the prestigious public university system has ever faced. The unions representing some 48,000 teaching assistants, researchers, postdoctoral scholars, tutors and graders say the vast majority of members turned out at picket lines starting at 8 a.m. They say they are seeking significant pay increases and child-care subsidies to afford the cost of living in cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Berkeley, where housing costs are soaring. (link)

Nov 14: Shooting: A former University of Virginia football player suspected of killing three football players and wounding two other students on campus late Sunday night is in custody after a manhunt in Charlottesville, Virginia, police confirmed Monday. During a news conference on Monday, University of Virginia president Jim Ryan said three Cavaliers football players were shot and killed: junior receiver Lavel Davis Jr. of Dorchester, South Carolina; junior receiver Devin Chandler of Huntersville, North Carolina; and junior defensive end/linebacker D'Sean Perry of Miami. Ryan said the shooting took place on a charter bus after students returned to campus from a field trip. (link)

Nov 13: Robbery: Eleven Temple University students were robbed at gunpoint at an off-campus apartment on Saturday, according to the school's Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin. The robbery, which took place on the 1300 block of North 15th Street, is currently being investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department. No injuries were reported. The student victims told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI that the robbery took place after one of them answered a knock at the door when two men entered the home. (link)

Nov 08: Threat: The University of Dayton has responded after safety officers arrested a student for making a threat against the school on Yik Yak, a social media platform. On Monday, Nov. 7, a UD student said they received at least three Yik Yak posts saying a school shooting would take place at 12 p.m. One of the posts said "I’m going to shoot up this school today at noon. don’t say I didn’t warn you. Marianist first." On Tuesday, the University of Dayton released a statement in partnership with the FBI, saying that the student responsible had been arrested and charged with Making a Terroristic Threat and Inducing Panic. (link)

Nov 08: Arson: A suspected arsonist is in custody accused of setting fire to seven structures, including two churches near the Jackson State campus. The investigation began about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, when officials started to receive calls of several fires. The fires were reported at Greater Bethlehem Temple Church, Epiphany Lutheran Church, a privacy covering on a fence at the JSU baseball field, a house on Pascagoula Street, a gas station on Terry Road, a structure at Central Street and Dalton and another structure at Terry and Cherry streets. (link)

Nov 07: Greek Life: Cornell University announced the temporary suspension of all fraternity parties and social events in a statement on Monday, following alerts from the school’s Police Department over the weekend that one student was sexually assaulted and at least four others were drugged at off-campus residences affiliated with fraternities registered with the school. The Cornell police said they were made aware on Nov. 4 of at least four students who said they drank little or no alcohol at off-campus parties in recent weeks but became incapacitated. The students told the officers they had been "exposed to Rohypnol," the so-called date-rape drug. (link)

Nov 07: Vandalism: Gonzaga property with graffiti associated with the white supremacist group known as Patriot Front, according to an email sent to Gonzaga staff on Saturday night. A third person was also involved in the vandalism but was not arrested, the email said. None of the individuals were identified by police on Sunday. According to the email, students alerted campus authorities about the white supremacist graffiti on a mural wall, northwest of the Crosby Center, at about 7 p.m. Staff quickly painted over the graffiti, the email said. (link)

Nov 07: Racial Issues: A University of Kentucky student from Fort Mitchell was arrested early Sunday and video has surfaced of the student using racial slurs during a confrontation with a desk clerk on campus, the school's president said in a statement. The student is charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct, assault and assault on a police officer. The arresting officer reported she was in a corner repeating a racial slur to "a group of black females" and continued to use the word as the officer removed her from the area. (link)

Nov 03: Accident: A University of Iowa student has been hospitalized after falling out of a sixth-floor window at Mayflower Residence Hall early Thursday. UI police were called to Mayflower, 1110 North Dubuque St., at 4:22 a.m. for a report of a student falling out the window and landing on the hall’s north roof -- meaning he fell about five stories, according to UI Public Safety spokeswoman Hayley Bruce. Initial reports are the fall was an accident. Students said they were "playing around in a residence hall room when one student leaned back and fell through the screen of an open window," Bruce said. (link)

Nov 03: Racial Issues: An associate professor of chemistry and interim assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is under review for allegations of practicing cultural appropriation at a Halloween party. The professor has also been accused of doing blackface, but this has not yet been confirmed. Some say her skin looked darker during her reenactment of "Thriller", which could have been due to the lighting of the room. Others say that she had simply worn makeup to look like a zombie as singer Michael Jackson did in his music video "Thriller." (link)

Nov 03: Free Speech Settlement: A Texas professor who said she was fired from Collin College in North Texas after she publicly criticized the school’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has won her job back for two more years according to a legal settlement with the school. Education professor Suzanne Jones filed a lawsuit in September 2021 accusing the school of violating her First Amendment right to free speech. In a settlement announced Thursday, the college agreed to pay Jones $230,000 as part of a two-year contract starting in January 2023, a much higher sum than her prior annual salary of around $66,000. (link)

Nov 02: Fight: Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker on Sunday night suspended four players immediately for their roles in a postgame altercation with two Michigan players a day earlier. Tucker pointed to MSU’s "football core values" including "integrity, discipline, unselfishness, toughness, and accountability" in announcing the suspensions, calling videos of the incidents "disturbing electronic evidence." A video of an incident on the south (right) wall of the tunnel emerged on social media Sunday afternoon, which appeared to happen just before the group melee three reporters witnessed on the north (left) wall. (link)

Nov 02: Housing Conditions: South Carolina college students faced at least 2,400 possible cases of mold in their dorms during the past two years, a crush of complaints and repairs that highlight a growing local and national problem: college living spaces that make students sick. In complaint after complaint, students said moldy dorms triggered asthma attacks and allergies, a new Post and Courier-led Uncovered investigation found. Students said they found mold on their desks, mattresses, couches and even their hats. They watched mushrooms sprout from baseboards and over their heads. They opened air vents and discovered filters and grates caked with black fungi. (link)

Nov 01: Privacy: A 21-year-old Bucknell University student faces 44 misdemeanor charges of invasion of privacy after university police said he had placed video equipment in a men's restroom in a dormitory club since January 2021 which showed 363 males using the urinals, according to court documents. The man, of White House Station, New Jersey, was charged Tuesday by the Bucknell University Public Safety Police after a New Jersey detective alerted campus police they were investigating the man for alleged child porn, according to court documents. Police said the detective told officers some of the videos captured while using a public bathroom, according to police. (link)

Nov 01: Housing Security: An Alabama man pretending to be a student at Stanford University was found to have been living in campus dormitories for nearly 10 months, according to university officials. The man, from Birmingham, Ala., was removed from campus on Thursday after a resident assistant for Crothers Hall found the man living in the basement of the dorm, the Stanford Daily reported. Resident assistants at Crothers Hall told the student newspaper that the man posed as a sophomore studying pre-med and falsely claimed he was recruited to the Stanford men’s track and field team in 2020. (link)

Nov 01: Campus Climate: A Tennessee State University professor has been fired from his position after a controversial video involving him was made public. TSU said in a statement Tuesday afternoon it chose to fire a now-former TSU professor after a video surfaced, showing him yelling in a student’s face. Pickard can be heard screaming, "What is your name? Out! Get out! You have failed this course, whatever your name is." Students said the professor has yelled at students before and TSU was finally forced to address the situation. (link)

Nov 01: Shooting: A 22-year-old man who was shot and wounded in a confrontation with Boulder Police officers in the University Hill area over the weekend faces attempted murder charges, court records show. The man was shot in the arm and taken into custody early Sunday morning after officers responded to a disturbance call near the 1200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. (link)

If you have any suggestions, questions or feedback, please e-mail Kevin Robinson at robinmk@auburn.edu or Robert Gottesman at gotterw@auburn.edu. We hope you find this information useful and would appreciate hearing your thoughts. Feel free to forward this email to your direct reports, colleagues, employees or others who might find it of value. Back issues of this newsletter are available on our web site.