Mason addresses Board of Regents; Miles notes Mason's achievements in first year

On Sept. 25, University of Iowa president Sally Mason formally responded to the Stolar Report at the Board of Regents, State of Iowa meeting in West Des Moines. Regents president David Miles then shared remarks as a response to the Stolar Report and prior to adopting a motion regarding Mason's compensation.

(Click here to go directly to Miles's comments.)

President Sally Mason:

Failing a student who asks for our help is unacceptable.

Failing to be transparent and accountable to the Board of Regents, and ultimately the people of Iowa, is unacceptable.

Our students and their parents expect more of us. The University community as a whole expects more of us. The citizens of Iowa expect more of us. I expect more of us.

I offer my apologies to the young woman involved in this case, to her parents, to our community, to our board, and to the citizens of Iowa.

We are grateful to the Board of Regents for commissioning an in-depth and impartial investigation of the University’s policies, procedures, and actions with respect to the allegations of sexual assault made by a student athlete against other University athletes last fall.

It is clear from the Stolar Group’s report that most University officials followed our established procedures. However, it is also clear that those procedures are flawed, and that some University officials did not do all they could have done or should have done, even within those procedures, to ensure that the young woman was protected and supported by the University.

I took several steps this week aimed at restoring trust in The University of Iowa. I terminated the employment of Vice President for Student Services Phillip Jones and UI General Counsel Marc Mills on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Vice Provost Tom Rocklin has assumed the responsibility of Interim Vice President for Student Services with all of the reporting responsibilities of that office. I have asked Interim Vice President Rocklin to begin work immediately on the following tasks:

• Work collaboratively with the committee that we set up this past summer, led by Professor Lee Anna Clark, to review all aspects of student services. I expect a report from this group by early February.
• Implement immediate measures to address students not living in their assigned residence hall rooms, and recommend changes in policies and language in the residence hall room contracts for next year to clamp down on “ghosting.”
• Work with Athletic Director Gary Barta to foster a culture of mutual respect, not only among student athletes, but also throughout our entire student body. We must make certain that the kind of harassment of the young woman that occurred after the alleged assault is tolerated by no one.

We will begin a national search for a new Vice President for Student Services before the fall semester is over. We will be searching for an individual who knows and understands the best practices of student services, can bring new ideas and new energy toward changing the alcohol culture among our students, and will help build a community of mutual trust and respect.

I have asked Carroll Reasoner to step in as Interim Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel. Ms. Reasoner is eminently qualified to stand in as UI General Counsel.

• She was the first woman and the youngest person to serve as the president of the Iowa State Bar Association.
• She has served on the state judicial nominating commission selecting individuals for appointment to the Supreme Court of Iowa.
• She has been recognized by listings in Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in American Women, and Who's Who in Emerging Leaders; recognized by the Des Moines Register as an Up and Comer; and has been ranked in the Best Lawyers in America for over 20 years.

We will also begin a national search for a new Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel immediately. It is my goal to have both vice president searches completed by the end of this academic year.

Our task now is to move ahead and take those additional steps that will restore trust in our ability to maintain a safe and vibrant learning environment.

Since we met [Sept. 18], I have read and reread the Stolar Report. I have consulted with people inside and outside The University of Iowa. I completely agree with the report’s recommendations and conclusions, and I pledge to lead the University’s efforts to implement, and even exceed, the recommendations without delay.

First, I demand and expect zero tolerance of sexual assault and sexual misconduct at The University of Iowa. We all must take swift and decisive action to show both victims and offenders that we will not tolerate such behaviors in any form.

Second, we will work closely and collaboratively with the board and all the Regents institutions. Together we will engage experts outside of the universities who are well versed in best practices and can recommend easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow policies and procedures on these sensitive issues

Third, I am immediately making our policies clear, workable, and enforceable.

We are committed to a victim-centered process in which victims are fully informed about the options available to them, are allowed to make the decision on which options to choose, and are supported in that process to the fullest extent of our abilities.

However, we are also aware that victims are in a stressful situation and must be given the maximum assistance and support possible to understand their options and make their decisions.

The interim steps we will be taking are as follows:

• No University official or department will attempt to engage in an “informal” resolution of sexual assault allegations.
• There will be a central point of contact for victims. The central point of contact will be the Women’s Resource and Action Center, directed by Monique DiCarlo, and she will report directly to me. I have also asked her to strongly encourage every victim to report the assault to the police.
• When anyone reports a sexual assault, the victim will immediately be assigned a trained victim advocate, who is mandated to accompany the victim in all dealings with University employees and officials concerning the assault and who can not be dismissed at any time. The advocates will be assigned by the Rape Victim Advocacy Program, directed by Karla Miller.

I have consulted directly with Karla Miller and Monique DiCarlo about these changes, and both are committed to making sure there is a seamless system focused on the victim in place starting today and continuing until the new formal policy is in place.

With the steps already taken, those new steps that we have outlined today, and those we will be taking with the board and our sister institutions, we will begin to move the University forward.

We will not only meet what is expected of us, but we will exceed those expectations. We will work at creating a model process, one that other institutions can look to with confidence.

The safety of our students and our entire University community, the trust that our state’s citizens place in us, and the integrity of our institution are—and must be—our highest priorities.

My commitment is to ensure that our policies and procedures fulfill those highest expectations and values.

Board of Regents President David Miles:

I reread the Stolar Report last evening and would like to comment on a couple of items of particular concern.

It is apparent that our current policies are fatally flawed. That we can and will address. The more significant failings, it seems to me, can be broadly organized into two categories.

First, the failure to place the needs of this student paramount: before rote adherence to policies; before disputes over turf; before the understandable fears of repeating the mistakes of the past; before petty irritations with the alleged victim herself.

Our policies must change, but even more so, we must provide leadership from the top down, and from the bottom up, so that when a student needs our help we will be there—consistently, reliably, and actively to support him or her.

The second failing was one of appropriate transparency with and accountability toward the governing board of the institution. In one instance a decision was made to knowingly and intentionally withhold material evidence sought in a formal investigation into this matter by the Board of Regents. That action, which led, to the reopening of this investigation, is simply unacceptable.

Finally, I would like to comment on the challenge and opportunity before the University, particularly as it relates to the athletic department.

Too often the athletic department is painted with a broad brush. While they are very much in the spotlight, like any other department at any university, the athletic department is comprised of individuals working hard each day to accomplish positive results and sometimes making mistakes.

The athletic department’s response in this event was decidedly imperfect. On the one hand, Coach [Kirk] Ferentz is to be commended for promptly taking the most stringent disciplinary action in his authority, suspending the two players from the team. It is also apparent that not only did the Athletic Department not seek to cover up the incident; they quickly met with the alleged victim and sought to assist.

Unfortunately the athletic department, like others within the University, got caught up in procedure and form over substance, which ultimately resulted in their providing less effective assistance than they might have.

My reading of the report suggests that the greatest challenge and opportunity for the athletic department going forward is to achieve a more positive impact in shaping the values and ideals of their student athletes. As has been noted in the report, some, not all, of our student athletes behaved abysmally toward the alleged victim. And they were maddeningly resistant to change, despite multiple meetings held by athletic department officials with student athletes to address the situation. “Ghosting” in student athlete dormitory rooms—i.e., student athletes not living in their assigned rooms—was also not adequately addressed.

So I challenge President Mason to work with the athletic department to use this incident as an opportunity to give greater emphasis to their role in shaping the lives of their student athletes for the better.

On that score I would like to comment quickly on Betsy Altmaier, faculty athletic representative to the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA. [Altmaier is a professor of psychological and quantitative foundations in the UI College of Education.—ed.]

In a situation where there has been very little positive to report, Ms. Altmaier stands out for her excellent response, and her concern and support for the victim. The integrity she displayed and the level of responsibility she assumed on behalf of the victim serve as a stellar example of a proper response, and it is imperative that her fine example be reflected both in our policies and in our conduct going forward. I commend Ms. Altmaier for her actions.

(following closed session)

Before acting on the motion regarding President Mason’s compensation, I would like to address a few comments to the many Iowans who care deeply about our public universities and special schools.

President Sally Mason has my full trust and confidence, as well as that of the entire
Board of Regents. She accepted our invitation to become the 20th president of The
University of Iowa at a particularly challenging time in the University’s history.

Nevertheless, in her first year on the job, the University’s fall enrollment reached record levels (30,561). More than $386 million in research grants and contracts—once again a record—were awarded to the University, and thanks to the generosity of so many Iowans and others, a record $162 million in private contributions was secured.

She has embraced Iowa and Iowans, participating in more than 200 speaking and listening meetings across the state—including visits to Sioux City, Dubuque, the Quad Cities, West Liberty, and Burlington, as well as outreach events across the United States.

She has been equally active on campus, making a half-day visit to each of the University’s eleven academic colleges, meeting regularly with on-campus leadership groups, and recruited five outstanding individuals, including most recently our new provost, Wallace Loh, to her senior leadership group.

Demonstrating her commitment to providing education for all Iowans, whatever their financial circumstances, she created the Iowa Promise Scholarship, which offers continued financial support throughout their academic career to recipients of the one-year All Iowa Opportunity Scholars program.

Perhaps more than anywhere else, her leadership during and following the unprecedented flooding of the University this summer, has been extraordinary. Under her leadership, our preparations for the flood were aggressive. And she did not simply organize those preparations, she worked on the front lines, helping to fill and place sandbags to protect our buildings.

She worked effectively with Iowa City community, state, and federal officials; FEMA; and others to bring a remarkable level of organization and control to the very chaotic and uncertain circumstances associated with a major disaster.

She, her executive team, and the entire UI community are to be congratulated for making a high quality educational experience for all our students their first priority. The University reopened for summer classes within 10 days following the flood, and began the fall semester with a full complement of courses for our students.

As we all know, this has not been a perfect year. The University failed in its handling of this sexual assault, and for that President Mason bears responsibility. The Board has been clear with her on this. Yet, we also recognize that the event itself occurred just a few weeks following our arrival on our campus. She inherited the flawed policies and procedures in place at the time. She relied upon members of her executive team, some of whom, in retrospect, did not serve the University well in this matter.

However, as the Stolar Report makes clear, she stayed informed, she reached out to the alleged victim’s mother to express her sympathy, she made phone calls to encourage that he investigation be completed expeditiously so that appropriate actions could be taken. And now, she has moved decisively to address personnel issues in her organization, and to issue a clarion call to transform the fatally flawed process that she inherited to a model process, that puts the safety of our students first, and that our entire University community can look to with confidence.

We believe that she is the right person at the right time to lead this effort.

So, what sort of compensation adjustment is appropriate under the circumstances? The approach taken in the resolution attempts to reflect a year of great progress and leadership on many fronts, but that was also marred by the topic of today’s meeting. As president, she is responsible for both the good and the bad.

We urge the public to take from this number a message of accountability for results. It is not meant to convey dissatisfaction or a limited future for this president, but rather our high expectations for her and what we continue to view as great promise for the future of the University under her leadership.

In sum, we believe President Mason to be a good and able president. More importantly, we believe in her capacity to become a great president.

[back to top]