EAST LANSING — Former Michigan State University Provost June Youatt is returning to the faculty, but first she plans to spend six months doing research and take a six-month sabbatical, for which she'll be paid $480,000 a year, a university spokesperson said.

Youatt resigned from her position as provost Sept. 5 following a U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights investigation into MSU's handling of cases involving former MSU doctor Larry Nassar and his boss William Strampel, a former dean of MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Investigators found that she knew about complaints involving Strampel and failed to act and called her out — along with former president Lou Anna Simon — for not responding to reports claiming Strampel's behavior was "potentially creating a sexually hostile environment for students and staff."

The sabbatical and months for research are part of Youatt's contract, MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant said, as was the stipulation that she would maintain her $480,000 provost's salary for a year after stepping down.

MSU President Samuel Stanley Jr. “said to me he’s not challenging her contract,” Guerrant said.

Youatt plans to return to MSU as a faculty member after that first year, Guerrant said, and will earn an annual salary of $288,000 from that point forward.

Several people brought concerns about Strampel’s “sexual and derogatory gender-based comments” to MSU administrators as early as 2004, according to the federal report. It also cites multiple performance reviews showing that students, faculty and staff found his behavior inappropriate.

Youatt and other administrators failed to act and "very likely perpetuated the belief expressed by many that they had no choice but to tolerate (Strampel's) behavior," according to the report.

Stanley said he brought Youatt into his office for a discussion Sept. 5 after the federal report went public. She resigned by the end of the conversation.

A statement from Reclaim MSU, a group comprised of MSU students, faculty and staff pointed to news reports prior to the federal report that shows Youatt "chose to reward and reappoint" Stampel even after she received repeated complaints about his behavior.

Yet MSU trustees never called for her resignation and Youatt never resigned until after the federal report went public, according to the statement.

"Why is that? Why was she allowed to resign and not fired?" Reclaim MSU wrote. "Why was she rewarded for her failures with a golden parachute? This is outrageous misconduct."

The university is continuing to pay Youatt's legal bills related to the Nassar and Strampel cases.

“I hope you find my administration is committed to taking the actions and making the changes necessary to address the weaknesses and failures of the system and the people who intentionally or not failed to address the root causes of this abuse,” Stanley said, reading from a statement at the Sept. 6 Board of Trustees meeting.

Stanley could not be reached for comment Friday. Board of Trustees chairperson Diane Byrum said she directed Guerrant to answer a reporter's questions and did not provide any further comment.

Youatt is tenured, which means firing her would involve a tenure revocation process. A faculty hearing committee must find cause to revoke tenure. MSU's leaders have not said publicly that they're pursuing that option in Youatt's case.

Former interim President John Engler voiced support for firing Strampel under the same process. Strampel retired in July of 2018 before officials could consider moving that process forward. He was later found guilty of misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty.

Survivors of Nassar's abuse expressed disgust that Youatt is staying at MSU.

“3 yrs ago today June Youatte (sic) got an email from Dean Strampel mocking my graphic descriptions of what Larry did to me as a child, calling it the 'cherry on the cake' of his day. Strampel is also an abuser, and she knew it. Today, she got a 6 mo paid vacation for her failures,” Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to say publicly that Nassar sexually abused her, said in a Tweet on Thursday.

Youatt could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Stay informed on the latest news from Michigan State University by subscribing to the Lansing State Journal. For current offers, visit LSJ.com/subscribe.

Contact Mark Johnson at 517-377-1026 or at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.