Editorial: UC must hold faculty accused of sexual assault as culpable as students

University of California President Janet Napolitano promised to implement several policy changes to address the shortcomings of the University’s Title IX procedure in regard to complaints filed involving faculty. While the changes are a big step in the right direction, Napolitano’s order falls short of what the University’s main goal should be: holding professors to the same standard as other perpetrators of sexual assault.

The policy changes were recommended in a report that found that, out of 141 complaints filed against faculty at eight of the 10 UC campuses between 2012 and 2015, 107 were not formally investigated. The report was unable to distinguish how many of these complaints were not investigated because they were unsubstantiated or resolved alternatively, such as through a settlement agreement.

The recommendations she immediately implemented include the dedication of a confidential resource to faculty, academic appointees and graduate students and a mandate that campuses maintain faculty’s disciplinary records indefinitely for administrators’ review.

These are welcome changes that will improve the lack of resources and comprehensive procedure in the UC’s Title IX offices, particularly for graduate students who are more vulnerable to the faculty members who act as their advisers. What these changes do not address is the ultimate disciplinary process, which privilege faculty over students accused of similar offenses.

Students who sexually assault others are removed from campus because their presence creates an unsafe environment. The same could be said for professors, even more so. But sexual assault complaints against professors, unlike for students, do not result in immediate, or even eventual, action. Since professors have power, prestige and mandated interaction with students, their presence is detrimental to both student wellness and safety when they are allowed to remain on campus.

The standard procedure of settling with professors who commit sexual assault needs to end. Otherwise, professors who sexually assault students will never be held to the standards that are necessary to ensure student wellness.

The principal example of the University’s willingness to allow accused professors to avoid formal investigations was the settlement that prevented any action from being taken against Gabriel Piterberg, a professor who had a Title IX complaint filed against him by two graduate students. Many were outraged that UCLA allowed him to continue teaching after a short suspension, just to avoid the “cost, uncertainty and inconvenience” of investigating a tenured professor, who would need to be reviewed by the Academic Senate and the UC Regents before being dismissed.

If the University does not establish how cases like Piterberg’s should be handled without dismissing the seriousness of complainants’ allegations, the problem will continue and administrators will be left with a choice between a lengthy and costly investigation process, or settlements that risk students’ emotional and academic health.

Of course, there is a reason professors are treated more mildly and given the chance to settle their cases without formal investigation. Other than the fact that it makes universities look bad, there is the issue of tenure, which makes removing professors from a campus prohibitively complicated.

Napolitano addressed this to a degree by asking the joint committee, which she created, to clarify the relationship between the Title IX office and the committees dedicated to protecting faculty’s privilege and tenure.

This is an important step, but a more aggressive approach needs to be taken. To start, the committee must clarify the role tenure plays in protecting professors from punishment and outline what changes it thinks need to be made to accommodate stricter sexual assault punishments.

It’s good to see that Napolitano is taking the issue of sexual assault seriously; but considering the immense impact this has on students, and the privileged position professors hold in the University, a more direct approach for investigating professors and punishing them at the same level as students is something she must make an explicit priority.