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MSU Board of Trustees releases independent report on former business school dean's departure

MSU.EDU

The Michigan State University Board of Trustees has released documents from an independent report investigating the resignation of former business college dean Sanjay Gupta.

About six months ago, then MSU provost Teresa Woodruff pushed for the resignation of the Eli Broad College of Business dean. Gupta later resignedafter an alleged failure to report sexual misconduct.

Following his departure, the MSU Board of Trustees hired law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan to investigate the matter.

On Friday night, the 100-plus-page report was released. The report acknowledged Gupta violated the university's reporting protocol when he failed to report an incident of sexual misconduct where a business school professor attempted to dance suggestively with several students at an event.

Among the reasons Woodruff gave in a letter to the MSU Board of Trustees last August, she said that Gupta violated the reporting protocol, failed to investigate an incident of alleged misconduct, and caused a two-month delay in the university's investigation of the incident.

According to the independent investigation, Gupta was aware the incident had already been reported to MSU's Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) by two separate faculty members. He said he did not believe he was required to file an additional report.

"As it pertains to Gupta, Woodruff’s personnel actions appear to be disproportionate and not appropriately calibrated to the significance (or insignificance) of Gupta’s unreported information to the underlying investigation, the treatment of other comparable cases, and Gupta’s record as a whole," the report said.

Woodruff and several other officials sent letters to the Board of Trustees last October asking the board to halt the Quinn Emanuel investigation. The report stated Woodruff said Gupta's failure to comply with mandatory obligations was not in dispute.

In a statement, the Board of Trustees said they're working to ensure the university remains a safe, healthy and respectful environment for everyone.

"Any future action related to topics covered in the review will be handled by MSU’s administrative leaders. We will not comment further on this matter," the statement said.

Interim President Teresa Woodruff said in a statement on Saturday she shares a commitment to the health and safety and well-being of the Spartan Community.

"I, along with others in the administration, have received a copy of the report, and we intend to review it in detail," she said. "My commitment to doing what is right and focusing on the long-term success and stability of our institution remains unchanged.”

In February, Gupta filed a lawsuit against several school administrators for his removal from the position.

As WKAR's Bilingual Latinx Stories Reporter, Michelle reports in both English and Spanish on stories affecting Michigan's Latinx community.
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