91¶ÌÊÓƵment of the Old Dominion 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Board of Visitors Concerning the Report of Nixon Peabody LLP

December 20, 2021

Today, the Old Dominion 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Board of Visitors is releasing the report from Nixon Peabody LLP, which reviewed allegations concerning sexual misconduct that began in 2010 by former Visiting Professor Blake Bailey and the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's response to, and its subsequent public comments concerning, that misconduct.

The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ is voluntarily making the report public to support full transparency in this matter and in recognition of the significant public interest in ensuring that Old Dominion provides a safe and welcoming environment for all individuals, and to demonstrate its commitment to combatting sexual misconduct.

Full text of the report can be found here. Please note that only a small number of redactions were made to the report solely to protect the privacy of certain victims, including several who had not been previously named in the media, as well as the content of personal journal entries.

Background

Earlier this year, The Virginian-Pilot newspaper published an article describing alleged sexual misconduct by then Visiting Professor Bailey (who was at ODU from 2010 to 2016) and suggesting that the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's response at the time had been insufficient. A statement given to the newspaper by the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ for that article was widely considered to be insensitive to victims of sexual misconduct.

Consequently, in August of 2021, the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ engaged Nixon Peabody LLP, a widely respected law firm with no other connections to the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, to review (1) the allegations concerning Professor Bailey's conduct and the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's response to it, and (2) the circumstances surrounding the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's 2021 statement to The Virginian-Pilot.

The Report's Findings

Bailey's conduct and the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's response to it: The Nixon Peabody report found that Professor Bailey touched a professor's private parts without her consent and also engaged in unwanted physical touching and attention toward a graduate student. It also found that certain members of the faculty and administrators became aware of these incidents. The report also concludes that "although there may have been no clear violation of Title VII, Title IX, or any other applicable law or policy, best practices dictate that ODU should have done more to address the Bailey allegations at the time."

The 2021 statement to The Virginian-Pilot: The Nixon Peabody report found that the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's statement improperly "blamed complainants, instead of providing the care and support they deserve," and that it "made ODU appear indifferent to the issues of sexual misconduct."

The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's Response

"The sexual misconduct described in the report, as well as the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's inadequate response to it at the time, are wrong and unacceptable," said ODU Board of Visitors Rector Bruce Bradley after the report had been presented to and reviewed by the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's Board. "Since that time, the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ has taken steps to prevent activity like this occurring in the future and to ensure that if it does occur that individuals will feel empowered to report it in the knowledge that ODU will respond swiftly, appropriately, and effectively. We express our sincere regret on behalf of the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ that these events happened, that members of our Monarch family experienced them, and that our response was not what it should have been."

Regarding the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's statement to The Virginian-Pilot, the Rector said, "President Broderick apologized for the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ at the time, and we again express our regret. We are also concerned by the report's finding that no female administrators, including the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's assistant vice president overseeing communication, its Title IX coordinator, or anyone from the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, were involved in developing or reviewing the statement. The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ has taken steps to ensure that statements to the media are properly reviewed and that the process will include women and all appropriate officials."

A Clear Commitment to Doing Better

With the increase in federal regulation and compliance, as well as the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's own review of its policies and procedures, much has changed since 2010 when these incidents took place. As a society, we have gained a much greater appreciation of the need to empower victims to report instances of sexual misconduct and the corresponding need for institutions to take those reports seriously and investigate them thoroughly. ODU has changed as well, and over the course of those 11 years has taken a variety of steps to empower individuals to report sexual misconduct and to strengthen the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ's response. "We believe that if these policies and procedures had been in place in 2010, the outcome would likely have been different," Rector Bradley said.

Since becoming ODU President in July 2021, Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., has made it a priority to strengthen those practices even further. At the beginning of the current academic year, ODU's Police Department launched the "Start by Believing" initiative to ensure that police not only investigate complaints thoroughly but, equally important, treat complainants with compassion and support and thereby encourage the reporting of misconduct.

The initiative has included a public awareness campaign, along with a video that notes "how we react can have lasting physical, emotional, and psychological effects on victims of sexual assault, so responding in a positive way can improve a victim's well-being and increase the chance that they will report to law enforcement and reach out for help through resources right here at ODU." All Monarchs are urged to respond to reports of rape or sexual assault "by believing, being compassionate and supportive, and asking how you can help."

The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ is fully committed to learning from this experience and to proactively ensuring that Old Dominion 91¶ÌÊÓƵ provides a safe and supportive environment for all members of our Monarch family.

ABOUT OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

Old Dominion 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, located in Norfolk, is Virginia's forward-focused public doctoral research university with more than 23,500 students, rigorous academics, an energetic residential community and initiatives that contribute $2.6 billion annually to Virginia's economy.

Old Dominion, established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, has the most affordable tuition of any doctoral-granting university in Virginia and is the only doctoral institution to freeze tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates this year. It has been named a Best National 91¶ÌÊÓƵ by U.S. News & World Report.

ODU recently placed among the top 10% of institutions in the nation and No. 1 in Virginia in CollegeNET Inc.'s eighth annual Social Mobility Index (SMI) rankings. It has been named a "top performer" in social mobility by U.S. News & World Report and ranked fourth in country and 49th in the world for reducing inequalities in the Times Higher Education World 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Rankings. Twenty-five percent of spring 2021 bachelor's recipients were first in their family to receive a degree.

ODU is a champion of diversity. The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ enrolled 7,000 African American students in fall 2020 - more than any other four-year public institution in Virginia, and 53% of undergraduates in fall 2020 were students of color. It was named a top-15 university for African American student success by Education Trust. ODU enrolls students from 97 countries.

Located near Naval Station Norfolk, headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command, ODU is committed to serving the military community. Twenty-five percent of its student body is military-affiliated, and the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ ranked No. 1 in Virginia in "Best for Vets" category by Military Times.

The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ has been a leader in virtual learning, offering more than 100 programs completely online. ODU is ranked as the No. 1 Virginia college by OnlineColleges.com; 68% of students participate in online learning and 28% are totally online.

A new Chemistry Building and Hugo A. Owens House opened this spring. The Chemistry Building features 24 research labs, 13 teaching labs and a 122-seat planetarium and digital theater. Owens House provides living-learning communities for students in STEM-H fields and is named for a local civil rights leader who was Old Dominion's first African American rector. The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ also broke ground for a new Health Sciences Building. The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ previously announced a partnership with Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk 91¶ÌÊÓƵ 91¶ÌÊÓƵ and Sentara Healthcare to establish the new School of Public Health and, most recently, additional collaborations were announced with regard to education, research, clinical, and workforce efforts in order to address significant health disparities in the region.

More than 4,600 students are enrolled in the Graduate School, which was established in 2016. They come from all 50 states and nearly 100 countries.