EAST LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan State University official responsible for William Strampel's reappointment as Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine despite allegations of inappropriate behavior is responding to his criminal charges for more alleged sexual misconduct for the first time.
Strampel faces prison time for allegedly groping female medical students, allegedly storing porn on his university computer and allegedly mishandling his role as Larry Nassar's boss — specifically after the 2014 Title IX investigation that found Nassar could become a liability and recommended new protocols be put in place when Nassar was treating patients.
Additionally, last week 24 Hour News 8 found new allegations that claim Strampel also solicited two women to act as clinical skills models, but paid them in cash and made inappropriate comments about their bodies.
Shortly after the Michigan Attorney General's office announced the criminal charges, reports that other university officials knew of Strampel's alleged misconduct years ago came to light.
"More than a year before the national accounts of Nassar came to light, I made a decision to reappoint William Strampel to another term as Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine," Provost June Youatt said in a statement released by the university Tuesday.
Youatt's statement goes on to explain anonymous surveys were collected as part of Strampel's five-year review in 2015.
"The results included several accounts of inappropriate remarks and a number of concerns about uncouth and sometimes offensive language during the review period," the statement said. "The concerns raised were taken seriously, and I specifically addressed these in the required post-review conversation. At that point, no complaints had been filed with OIE or MSUPD regarding Strampel’s behavior."
Here's Youatt's statement in full:
"I find the descriptions of Strampel’s behavior that continue to come to light shocking and appalling. For all we have accomplished around student success, we have not yet created the kind of environment where our community feels safe and supported. I am so appreciative of those who had the courage to come forward and so sorry that they not only experienced such abuse in the first place, but that they did not feel it was safe to talk about until recently.
More than a year before the national accounts of Nassar came to light, I made a decision to reappoint William Strampel to another term as Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. We had just completed his five-year review where input about his effectiveness was solicited from on and off campus through an anonymous survey. The results included several accounts of inappropriate remarks and a number of concerns about uncouth and sometimes offensive language during the review period. The concerns raised were taken seriously, and I specifically addressed these in the required post-review conversation. At that point, no complaints had been filed with OIE or MSUPD regarding Strampel’s behavior.
Today, our entire campus community is part of a renewed commitment to make sure that everyone feels empowered to speak up when they need to, and to feel safe in the environment in which they learn and work. We are all working hard to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.
-June Youatt, MSU Provost"