Senate Assembly Resolution on an Office for Ethics and Compliance

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WHEREAS, the University of Michigan has failed to be leader and best in policies and practices that protect students, staff, and faculty from sexual predators on its campus;

WHEREAS, as a result of the University’s failures, members of the campus community have experienced trauma, and the University has spent millions of dollars to compensate victims;

WHEREAS, the administrative structures of the University are ineffective in protecting students, staff and faculty from administrative abuse by requiring victims to report abuse to those responsible for creating toxic situations;

WHEREAS, SACUA convened a WilmerHale Task Force of faculty experts to review the recommendations of the WilmerHale Report on its investigation of sexual misconduct by former provost Martin Philbert.

WHEREAS, the University hired an outside consultant, Guidepost Solutions, which conducted an ethics and compliance review of the three campuses;

WHEREAS, SACUA’s WilmerHale Task force and Guidepost Solutions have conducted an extensive review of the handling of institutional misconduct at the University of Michigan and at other universities;

WHEREAS, SACUA’s WilmerHale Task Force and Guidepost Solutions have found that institutions that have suffered misconduct similar to that perpetrated by known sexual predators at the University have addressed their failures by creating a new, independent reporting line through an office for ethics and compliance headed by an office that has a direct reporting line to the board of regents or equivalent body;

WHEREAS, an office for Ethics and Compliance serves to protect members of the campus community who report misconduct from retaliation;

WHEREAS, 49 out of 64 AAU Universities, including twelve Big Ten Universities have created offices for Ethics and Compliance reporting to their boards;

WHEREAS, it is critical that an adequate administrative structure be in place at such a time as a new president is hired;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the University of Michigan is urged to create an office for Ethics and Compliance with an independent reporting line to the Board of Regents as soon as is practicable.

Approved April 18, 2022

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