Amid ongoing reports of failure by the Baylor Univeristy administration to properly address accusations of campus sexual assault, the Texas university's Board of Regents has reportedly moved to fire President and Chancellor Ken Starr.
From HornsDigest.com, which first broke the story:
The three dozen members of the Baylor regents board are blaming Starr - not football coach Art Briles - for failed leadership during the ongoing scandal over how the school handled reports of rape and assault made against five BU football players - two of whom (Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwuachu) were convicted of raping Baylor co-eds, sources close to the situation told HornsDigest.com.
... One source said it was possible Starr, an attorney and former judge, could be reassigned to a new role in the Baylor law school without having his pay reduced. But it was unclear if Starr would indeed receive a new post on the Waco campus after a final vote of the regents or if he'd simply be terminated and paid a settlement, sources said.
Media focused its attention on sexual assaults by Baylor football players last year after a seeming pattern emerged. Former football player Tevin Elliott was convicted on two counts of sexual assault and received a 20-year sentence. Another student who transferred from Boise State to play for Baylor was convicted of sexual assault last summer — which caused the school to launch an investigation into its handling of the case.
But the high-profile cases seemed to be just the tip of the iceberg. In February, after reports from Baylor students continued to come out, more than 1,500 students and alumni called for transparency from the administration and changes to the school's Title IX processes for handling allegations of sexual assault in an open letter to the school's board of regents.
“Baylor students deserve more than mere assurances by administration officials that the University is doing its part,” the open letter read. “Accordingly, we respectfully insist that the University promptly take action to improve its responses to sexual assault — and publicly state what those will be.”
At its February meeting, the board of regents approved an "action plan" to address violence on campus that would, among other things, dedicate funding to increase the number of counseling staff and space dedicated to counseling, mandate yearly Title IX training for upper-class and graduate students (previous training was limited to incoming students), and mandate yearly Title IX faculty and staff training.
While the move placated some, the reality of continued reports of mishandled sexual assault investigations continued. And in March, Jasmin Hernandez filed a lawsuit against the board of regents, football coach Art Briles, and athletic director Ian McCaw for negligence in handling her case against Tevin Elliott. The suit alleges that the school refused Hernandez access to mental health services, ignored phone calls, did not have a Title IX coordinator in place to address concerns, and did not have the proper staff training to handle sexual assault cases.
There is no word whether other members of the school's administration or staff will be dismissed.
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