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YOLO COUNTY NEWS

D.Kern Holoman, conducts the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra at the memorial for former UCD Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef in 2015. Holoman agreed to university disciplinary action for sexual misconduct stemming from incidents in the late 1980s. Sue Cockrell/Enterprise file photo

State audit finds inconsistent discipline in UC sexual misconduct cases

The California State Auditor issued a report last week advising UC Davis, UCLA and UC Berkeley that they are inconsistent in doling out discipline for sexual misconduct.

Specifically, State Auditor Elaine Howle said in a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown and other legislative leaders, “We found that the three campuses we visited — Berkeley, Davis and Los Angeles — took much longer to discipline faculty in the Academic Senate than they did to discipline staff.”

Howle went on to say that the three campuses — the only ones to be reviewed — “disciplined staff within 43 days after the conclusion of an investigation compared to 220 days for faculty in the Academic Senate.”

It was noted, however, that because of the faculty system of shared governance at UC, “(faculty) have a right to a hearing process that can prove lengthy.”

The audit assessed “disciplinary decisions in cases in which the campus investigations substantiated the allegations” and used 10 randomly selected cases from each of the three campuses which had been decided between 2007-16. UCD processed a total of 157 complaints involving students and faculty or staff during that time.

One UCD incident described in the audit to highlight the slow process for discipline said that “in a 223‑day case, the campus placed the respondent on involuntary leave with pay shortly after the campus office received the complaint. This involuntary leave lasted until the respondent’s separation from the campus.”

The audit also found that UCD generally “follow(ed) university policy or Title IX requirements” while UCLA and UCB did not. Note: Title IX of the 1972 Education Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex “under any educational program.” The UC prohibits, among other things, sexual violence, including sexual assault, dating or domestic violence and stalking; and sexual harassment.

Additionally, UCD was better than the other two campuses in its data reliability and in always following the processes for getting time extensions when needed on investigations.

However, UCD was criticized in the audit for “performing especially poorly” in retaining adequate records demonstrating how it resolved cases.

In a sexual harassment case that came to light in December of last year — Danny Gray, the director of academic employment and labor relations in the UCD Office of Academic Affairs, accused emeritus music professor D. Kern Holoman of sexual assault and rape when Gray was an undergraduate student at UCD in the late 1980s — UCD admitted it had done poor record-keeping.

“There is no record of the action taken against Holoman after Gray made complaints in 1987 and 1996,” an Enterprise story explained. UCD spokeswoman Dana Topousis said then that UCD does not keep all records dating back that far, but that Chancellor Gary May formed a team of his administrators to “begin reviewing practices and systems involving sexual harassment records. He asked them to develop recommendations for appropriate long-term protocols and practices that are consistent with university policy and collective bargaining agreements,” Topousis said.

In Holoman’s case, UCD administrators acted swiftly upon learning of Gray’s accusations, stripping Holoman of his emeritus status and demoting him from distinguished professor to professor. “The removal of emeritus title means he will no longer be eligible to be employed by the University of California or to participate in teaching, governance or scholarly activities related to the University of California,” Touposis said. Holoman signed an agreement accepting this disciplinary action but did not admit any misconduct.

Response

In response to the audit, UCD spokeswoman Kimberly Hale said, “UC Davis has a strong Title IX program that is the result of continuous improvements implemented over the past decade. We appreciate the feedback and recommendations from the state auditor, which will help us continue to make improvements in our process. We have been and remain committed to taking immediate and appropriate corrective action when we receive reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence.”

UC President Janet Napolitano issued a statement timed with the audit’s release, in which she accepts all of the recommendations, including:

* Title IX coordinators on campuses should have a role in deciding discipline for sexual harassment violations to help the UC gain consistency across campuses.

* Prompt resolution of complaints against faculty requires “the Academic Senate to further define its bylaws and written requirements…to establish time frames for faculty disciplinary decisions.”

Napolitano noted in her response that improvements made in 2017 to the procedures surrounding sexual misconduct claims were not in place during the audit’s window.

“UC understands the need for a strong stance against sexual violence and sexual harassment, meaningful efforts at preventions, and fair and timely processes for addressing complaints,” Napolitano wrote.

— Reach Tanya Perez at [email protected] or 530-747-8082. Follow her on Twitter at @EnterpriseTanya.

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