UW students accuse teachers of sexual harassment in more than half of all campus cases

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay investigated allegations that an instructor forced students to wear two-piece swimsuits and that an assistant coach inappropriately texted a female student-athlete.

UW-Oshkosh investigated whether an instructor had a consensual relationship with a student against university policy and then harassed her when she tried to break up with him.

At a two-year UW campus, a student accused an instructor of contacting the student on a mobile app called Grindr, which helps gay and bisexual men hook up. The same instructor allegedly touched the student during class.

Open records requests filed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that among all 13 four-year campuses and 13 two-year colleges in the UW System, nearly 100 complaints of employee sexual misconduct — either harassment and/or assault — have been formally investigated since 2014.

The cases requested by the Journal Sentinel specifically involved teaching, supervisory and advising staff — not all university staff.

On the two- and four-year campuses — excluding UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee — more than half of the complaints alleged that professors or instructors sexually harassed students.

UW-Madison and UWM did not disclose the nature of their complaints or whether students were involved, though the Journal Sentinel is seeking additional information from both campuses through open records requests.

The nearly 100 cases do not include individuals who chose not to file a formal complaint, anyone who pursued a complaint informally or individuals who wanted to remain anonymous. To file a formal complaint on a UW campus, an individual must be identified by name so an investigation may occur.

"Our campus communities should be safe and welcoming places to live, learn and work — and there is no room for compromise on this commitment," UW System President Ray Cross told the Journal Sentinel.

“We are focused on changing the culture on our campuses and beyond so victims feel empowered to come forward," he said. "We have been implementing real, tangible approaches at our institutions to continue tackling these challenges."

UW-Madison acknowledged sexual harassment is widely underreported there.

A 2015 campus climate survey was a wake-up call, UW-Madison officials said, because more than half of all students who responded said they had been sexually harassed. Of female graduate students who cited sexual harassment, 22.2% accused a faculty member.

The state's flagship campus is working on a centralized reporting system because complaints are made through many different offices and many are informally resolved.

UW-Milwaukee had the most formal investigations — 34 — from 2014 through 2017, followed by UW-Oshkosh with 19, UW-Whitewater with 11, UW-Madison with seven, UW Colleges with five and UW-Green Bay with four.

Three institutions — UW-Stevens Point, UW-Platteville and UW-Stout — investigated three complaints. UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire each had two. UW-Parkside, UW Extension and UW-Superior each investigated one complaint.

At least half of the formal investigations found claims were substantiated, and either university policies were violated or the employee was warned or referred for sexual harassment awareness training.

Investigation findings varied widely by campus. UWM proportionately found fewer complaints were substantiated. Of 34 cases investigated between 2014 and 2017, UWM concluded 10 were policy violations, while 22 involved no violation. Two cases are still pending.

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In cases across the UW System where violations were substantiated, employees were required to undergo training or counseling, they resigned or were terminated, or accommodations were made to minimize contact between the individuals involved.

Because highly publicized cases of sexual harassment in workplaces around the country have brought the issue into compelling focus, the UW System agreed to quickly provide the Journal Sentinel with basic information to report the scope of the issue on campuses. Obtaining detailed information about specific cases through employee records is a legal process that takes longer.

The Journal Sentinel has requested those additional details for most of the cases.

UW System noted in its response that Cross created a task force in 2014 that included representatives from every UW campus. Several of the group's recommendations are now being implemented, including mandatory training on sexual violence and harassment for all employees across the system, spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said.

RELATED: University of Wisconsin employees receive training in sexual assault prevention

The UW System also has a webpage to share university policies on sexual harassment and to guide the filing of a complaint against an employee.

Financial settlements at Oshkosh

Financial settlements were made in two of the 19 cases at UW-Oshkosh since 2014, though the university officially concluded no policy violations occurred in either case.

Both complaints were filed in 2017 and both accused a faculty member of sexually harassing an employee. When the employee reported it to a supervisor, the supervisor fired the employee — allegedly in retaliation for reporting it. It was unclear from the records whether both complaints involved the same faculty member and employee.

Four of the 19 cases involved either a faculty member or an academic staff supervisor allegedly in a relationship with a student — one of them an athlete.

In one case, the student accused the faculty member of harassing her after she ended their consensual relationship. The faculty member voluntarily resigned when the 2014 investigation concluded that university policy was violated.

In a second case in 2017, a UW-Oshkosh student-athlete allegedly in a relationship with an academic staff supervisor accused the supervisor of sending sexually explicit photos over social media. The university found no violation of university policy and took no action.

Two more cases involving student relationships with a UW-Oshkosh employee were reported in 2017. In both cases, a UW-Oshkosh faculty member allegedly used "his power differential to engage in sexual activity with other students."

No violation of university policy was found in either case. No action was taken in one case, and the university cited insufficient information in the other case to move forward with an investigation. Instead, the faculty member was reminded of the university's policy on consensual relationships.

Nine of UW-Oshkosh's 19 cases involved students.

At UW-Green Bay, the 2014 investigation of an instructor accused of forcing students to wear two-piece swimsuits "revealed no evidence that 2-piece suits were required," and that no campus policy was violated, according to the summary of cases across the UW System provided by a spokeswoman.

The UW-Green Bay assistant coach accused of inappropriately communicating by text with a female student-athlete in 2014 received a written reprimand that limited the coach's interaction with female athletes. The coach also lost a postseason bonus and was required to complete sensitivity training.

A 2016 investigation at UW-Green Bay began with an anonymous correspondence to the UW Board of Regents alleging sexual misconduct by a senior athletics staff member. The correspondence said an employee had left her position as a direct result of sexual misconduct of the senior staffer.

The investigation of that complaint "did not support the allegations," according to the UW System's summary, which was prepared by its legal team.

A UW-Green Bay student in 2016 filed a complaint under Title IX against a professor, alleging unwanted and unwelcome physical contact, inappropriate comments, and verbal and physical intimidation. The student was taking a course from the professor at the time and also worked in the professor's unit. Title IX is the provision in federal education law that protects people from discrimination based on sex.

The Title IX complaint was investigated. Sufficient facts showed the professor violated the university's harassment and discrimination policy and the professor participated in "remediation" of campus harassment/discrimination training.

The UW-Green Bay professor also "worked with department chair to minimize risk of perception of physical/verbal behaviors" and rearranged his office "to allow more space between him and students in his office," according to the UW System's summary.A UW Colleges case in 2017 involving an instructor messaging a student on the Grindr social media app is pending, according to the UW System.

Another UW Colleges instructional staffer was accused in 2017 of leaving out a cellphone with pornographic images that students could see while "receiving additional instruction." That employee was "discontinued."

None of the three UW-Stevens Points cases shared by UW System cited a student or faculty member.

Both UW-Eau Claire cases involved faculty members.

In 2014, a UW-Eau Claire student alleged inappropriate touching during travel. The faculty member was banned from travel with students and was required to get sexual harassment awareness training.

In 2015, a student accused a UW-Eau Claire faculty member of inappropriate comments and emails. The faculty member was subjected to email monitoring and was required to get sexual harassment awareness training.

UW-Madison cases

UW-Madison had a proportionately small number of cases, compared to other campuses.

Spokeswoman Meredith McGlone noted that sexual harassment allegations can be addressed at various levels — the department, school/college level and in certain central administrative offices. They also may be handled informally so individuals involved may remain anonymous.

The Office of Compliance only collects data on harassment complaints raised with the Title IX coordinator and/or the equal opportunity complaint investigator, McGlone said.

The information UW-Madison provided to the Journal Sentinel did not include any allegations or responses that occurred outside the Office of Compliance.

UW-Madison does not have centralized tracking of complaints made at the department or school/college level, but has identified centralized record-keeping as an area of improvement, McGlone said.

The Office of Compliance is working on a computerized system for recording complaints, she said.

The university also updated its sexual harassment policy to more clearly define which campus employees are “Title IX responsible employees” who must report complaints to the Title IX coordinator, McGlone said.

While sexual harassment began getting heightened national attention this past fall, at UW-Madison the results of a 2015 student survey "were a wake-up call to campus on the issue of sexual harassment," McGlone said.

"The survey made clear that sexual harassment is under-reported here, as it is at other campuses and workplaces," she said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect complaints filed at UW-Eau Claire.