Joy Lisi Rankin, formerly an assistant professor with a joint appointment in Lyman Briggs College and James Madison College, has accused Rob LaDuca, another Briggs professor and a key figure in MSU academic governance, of repeated sexual harassment, though a Title IX investigation did not find LaDuca responsible for violating University policy.

Joy Lisi Rankin, formerly an assistant professor with a joint appointment in Lyman Briggs College and James Madison College, has accused Rob LaDuca, another Briggs professor and a key figure in MSU academic governance, of repeated sexual harassment, though a Title IX investigation did not find LaDuca responsible for violating University policy.

In a November 28 essay “firing” Michigan State University as her employer, Rankin describes an unnamed Briggs associate dean inappropriately staring at her, engaging in sexual conversations in the workplace, showing her his chest, and asking “increasingly personal questions” only to warn that she should “stay close” to him lest he “have to do another search to replace” Rankin. On the Banks has confirmed that LaDuca is the person to whom Rankin was referring.

LaDuca joined Lyman Briggs College as a professor in 2004. He resigned his position as Associate Dean for Administration and Academic Governance earlier this year in order to be the Chair of Faculty Senate, Academic Congress, and the Steering Committee. LaDuca was among the at-large faculty members of the Steering Committee who organized a vote of no confidence in the Board of Trustees last year.

When asked for comment and whether he would resign from his academic governance roles, LaDuca said, “I can confirm that OIE completely cleared the person in question of all allegations. As such, no harassment took place, and the person in question has no restrictions whatsoever on any University role he may occupying.” When asked whether he was the person OIE cleared, LaDuca responded, “Given that Dr. Rankin did not identify the Associate Dean in question (It could be any one of three), it is not fair to that person to identify them, especially as no harassment was verified by OIE in a confidential document.” On the Banks independently verified LaDuca is the person in question.

Rankin is a Yale graduate whose scholarship focuses on the history of computing. She began teaching at MSU in August 2016, and, as she put it, “[t]he sexual harassment started in September.” Rankin describes designing “roundabout ways of navigating college hallways to avoid crossing paths with him, to avoid his office,” which was close to hers. An archived copy of the Briggs faculty directory indicates Rankin’s office was in E191 Holmes Hall, while LaDuca’s was in E194. Rankin’s office has since been moved. “I was under extreme stress, constantly enduring a hostile work environment and trying to protect myself — because others had failed to do so,” said Rankin.

Rankin says she first reported LaDuca to the Office of Institutional Equity in December 2016. She claims that OIE sent a notice on February 9 indicating that the investigation would take longer than the sixty days the University Policy on Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct indicates as the goal for investigating complaint. She then says that later, OIE “claimed that [Rankin] had requested no investigation at all.”

A second complaint was filed in May 2017, according to Rankin. That investigation concluded that LaDuca was not responsible for violating University policy. Rankin notes that two other Briggs faculty members provided corroborating evidence to support her complaint. On the Banks is attempting to obtain this report, which would be made available here.

Rankin also takes issue with the conduct of then-Dean Elizabeth Simmons, who Rankin says filed an unfounded research integrity complaint against her in retaliation for Rankin reporting LaDuca. OIE did not determine that the complaint by Simmons was retaliatory. The investigators in the research integrity complaint against Rankin unanimously concluded that there was “no evidence whatsoever that Dr. Rankin’s work in any way commits Misconduct.” Simmons has since left MSU for an administrative role at the University of California San Diego.

LaDuca is a well-known figure both within Briggs and outside of the residential college. Earlier this year, LaDuca made a gift of $125,000 to Lyman Briggs to support undergraduate research. He is also known for managing MSU Memes 2.0, a popular Facebook page for sharing humorous posts about student life and Michigan State.

Rankin says the focus of her essay is “standing up for myself and facing down the bullies. It’s about speaking up for myself, and reaching out to the many others who have faced similar ordeals.” She noted that she was scared to come forward with her story, writing,

I think that finding just the right turn of phrase may convince everyone of what I am about to say. But I know, sadly, that will not be true. I am afraid. I am afraid of not being believed. Oh wait, that’s already happened. I am afraid of being called a bad historian. Well, that’s happened, too. I am afraid of 5 — or 50 — scalding Amazon reviews. I am afraid of being ostracized from the academic world in which I previously found refuge. Mostly, I am afraid that nothing will change.

In an interview with On the Banks in February, LaDuca called for “deeper scrutiny at Michigan State.” “Bring it on. We need it,” LaDuca said. “Many of these wounds that we have, we have to rip open and expose them to the light, because otherwise when they heal back up, that rot—that gangrene—will still be inside. So we do really need to have academic leaders who will mercilessly rip open every administrative structure we have and expose it.”

Update | 11/29/18, 5:16 p.m.: A spokesperson for the University gave the following comment:

One component of improving the campus culture surrounding sexual harassment at MSU is making sure every single student, faculty member and staff person feels confident in bringing forward their concerns. In this case, the employee appropriately reported the incidents to the Office of Institutional Equity, which is charged with the responsibility of conducting investigations. The Office of Institutional Equity conducted an investigation applying the processes in place at the time. The investigation determined that no policy violation was found. We continue to take in to account the experiences of those that have participated in the investigative process to make improvements. The university is committed to thoroughly investigating all complaints to create a safer, healthier and more respectful campus community.

Update | 11/29/18, 9:21 p.m.: In Facebook comments on this website’s page and others, Dr. LaDuca has publicly acknowledged he is the person accused, emphasizing that he was “investigated thoroughly” and “officially cleared.”

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Tyler Silvestri Tyler Silvestri is a third-year law student at MSU who received his bachelor’s degree in Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy from MSU’s James Madison College in 2017. He spent one year as the Assistant Director of ASMSU’s Student Rights Advocates and two years as a Resident Assistant. He is the Chairperson of the University Committee on Academic Governance. He can be reached at Tyler@onthebanksmsu.com. See author's posts