The Report of the Independent Investigation to be Issued on Thursday, January 11, 2018
In September 2017, the Board of Trustees of the University of Rochester appointed a Special Committee to oversee an independent, comprehensive investigation into all matters raised in a complaint filed against the University with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The Special Committee is chaired by Trustee Richard Handler. Its members include Trustees Nomi Bergman, John Davidson, Lance Drummond, and Lizette Pérez-Deisboeck as well as faculty representative Dr. Jean Bidlack, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology and a member of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, and student representative Kolja Keller, a fifth-year PhD student in Philosophy.
The Special Committee engaged former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, senior chair of the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, to conduct the independent investigation.
The scope of the investigation includes all matters raised in the EEOC complaint, including an examination of: (1) the underlying allegations against Dr. Florian Jaeger; (2) the University’s actions in responding to the allegations, including the previous investigations of the allegations; (3) the allegations that the University retaliated against certain of the faculty members who had made allegations about Dr. Jaeger’s conduct; (4) the University’s policies and procedures involving sexual harassment or sexual misconduct and any other related matters as the investigation may uncover that, in Ms. White’s sole judgment, should be addressed in The Report.
The Report of the Independent Investigation will be presented simultaneously by Ms. White to the Board of Trustees and the Special Committee Thursday morning and released, unedited, to the University community and the public at 12:45 p.m. Thursday when it is posted online at www.independentinvestigationur.net.
Neither the Special Committee, nor the Board of Trustees, nor the University’s Administration nor the complainants nor Dr. Jaeger nor any other party associated with the University has been given an opportunity to read The Report in advance of its release on Thursday or to recommend or make changes to it, and no such opportunity will be provided.
Ms. White will hold a news conference for representatives of the media at the University of Rochester at 1 p.m. Thursday, January 11, 2018. The news conference will be livestreamed at goo.gl/1Pg7dq.
Representatives of the University community, including leaders of the faculty, administration, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students will be invited to briefings Thursday afternoon and evening.
