Discipline of former MSU business school dean Sanjay Gupta 'disproportionate,' report finds

LANSING — A law firm tasked by Michigan State's Board of Trustees to investigate the forced resignation of former Broad College of Business Dean Sanjay Gupta over alleged Title IX reporting failures found then-Provost Teresa Woodruff used “disproportionate” discipline and may not have had former President Samuel Stanley Jr.'s approval before removing the former dean.

The Board of Trustees hired the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan law firm to investigate Gupta's abrupt dismissal in August and other Title IX concerns over the objections of the administration.

Woodruff, now the university's interim president, forced Gupta to resign after determining he failed to report that an administrator in the Broad College was accused of getting drunk at an off-campus party for MBA students and inappropriately touching a student and dancing in a sexually suggestive manner. The alleged incident had already been reported to the Office of Institutional Equity by other MSU staff. Gupta didn't attend the party, according to the report.

Woodruff dismissed Gupta for five reasons: His alleged violation of the policy requiring employees report relationship violence and sexual misconduct; His own failure to investigate an instance of alleged sexual misconduct of a business school leader; that his delay in reporting caused a two-month delay in an Office of Institutional Equity investigation; his failure to notify Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs of the misconduct and the accused leader’s request to retire; and failure to prevent an Outside Work for Pay Policy violation for the accused leader.

Quinn Emanuel investigators found Woodruff's reasoning flawed, and that only one allegation against Gupta − his initial failure to report − was valid. Woodruff told investigators she didn't need former President Samuel Stanley Jr.'s approval before pushing Gupta out, but the law firm said university policy clearly required it.

One of the reasons for his dismission, requiring Gupta to investigate the alleged misconduct, would have the then-dean in violation of university policy. Additionally, the expectation that he notify Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs of the misconduct allegations is a role that falls to the Office of Institutional Equity, not a dean, the law firm said.

Finally, the firm said there's no evidence Gupta knew about request to retire from the school leader accused at the party at the time it was made or that he knew his approval was needed. And "there is insufficient basis” to hold Gupta responsible for failing to prevent an Outside Work for Pay Policy violation.

"Moreover, requiring Gupta to take actions that the policies either forbid (i.e. asking follow-up questions to the RVSM Respondent), expressly delegate to another entity (OIE), or do not require his approval as dean (leave for retirement), appears unfair and could create confusion within the University leadership as to which expectations to follow," investigators wrote.

Gupta did not respond to a message from the State Journal. He has previously said he welcomed investigations into the circumstances leading up to his resignation, and he has a lawsuit pending against the school and numerous officials.

Gupta claims in his lawsuit that he was fired and falsely accused of mandatory reporting violations as part of a plan to block him from becoming MSU’s next president and to “enhance” Woodruff’s personal ambitions to become president. He denies any violations of policy. He remains a professor with the university.

MSU has said the lawsuit will be "vigorously defended."

Woodruff in a statement did not directly address any of the report's findings.

"The board and the administration share a commitment to the health, safety and well-being of all who are part of our Spartan Community," Woodruff said in a statement. "I, along with others in the administration, have received a copy of the report, and we intend to review it in detail. My commitment to doing what is right and focusing on the long-term success and stability of our institution remains unchanged."

The trustees voted to release a report on the investigation on Feb. 10. The university did so more than a month later, in the wee hours of Friday evening, emailing a news release just after 11 p.m. with the 104-page report and a brief, but unsigned, statement from the board.

“The Board of Trustees commissioned a review of the progress within MSU’s Title IX office as well as the circumstances surrounding the departure of Sanjay Gupta as dean. We are sharing the results of that review with the public today. This concludes our current engagement with Quinn Emanuel," the board's statement read.

“As we move forward, we will continue to have conversations with the university’s administration in pursuit of our shared goal of creating the safest, healthiest, and most respectful environment for our students and employees. Any future action related to topics covered in the review will be handled by MSU’s administrative leaders. We will not comment further on this matter.”  

Stanley publicly supported Woodruff after she forced Gupta out. In the fallout from Gupta's forced departure and in part because of his handling of Title IX issues, trustees Dianne Byrum and Dan Kelly pressured Stanley to resign before his contract was set to expire in 2024. He quit, citing a loss of confidence in the board.

It is not clear whether Stanley approved of Woodruff's actions prior to Gupta's resignation, according to the report.

The report notes that while Gupta, as a deal, was an at-will employee and could be removed at any time, both Stanley and Woodruff’s participation was required for Gupta’s removal or forced resignation under university policy.

Woodruff told investigators she didn't need Stanley's approval. Stanley declined to speak with investigators.

"Based on information provided to Quinn Emanuel by members of the Administration, Woodruff appears to haveconsulted with Stanley several times about the decision, and Stanley made a statement expressing his support. However, Stanley declined an interview, and thus Quinn Emanuel cannot verify whether and to what extent Stanley participated in the decision.

"Woodruff’s stated position during her interview - that she had the unilateral right to remove Gupta - is inconsistent with the Bylaws and Gupta’s offer letter.

Investigators concluded that the "personnel actions taken against Gupta appear disproportionate, out of sequence with the underlying investigation, and based on a factual record that included errors and omissions of relevantinformation and context. Moreover, some of these issues raise broader concerns about the Title IX investigative process itself, as well as the underlying policies under which MSU is operating."

Woodruff, according to the report, told Gupta before he resigned "that deans are the 'ultimate compliance officers' of the University, that Gupta had failed Woodruff’s 'own high administrative standards,' and that Gupta 'no longer enjoyed' Woodruff’s 'full faith and confidence.'" The firm concluded that alone could, under certain circumstances, support removing him as dean.

Former MSU Trustee Pat O’Keefe cited concerns with the circumstances that led to Gupta’s resignation as part of the reasons why he resigned from the Board of Trustees, according to his letter of resignation he sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Nov. 30.

MSU’s Faculty Senate and other faculty leaders have criticized the investigation into Gupta’s resignation and other Title IX compliance concerns. Other students and faculty have voiced their support for Gupta and slammed Woodruff for her decision to force Gupta to resign.

Gupta's lawsuit was filed on Feb. 24, naming Stanley, Woodruff, Interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko, Title IX Coordinator Nicole Schmidtke, Senior Title IX investigator Allison Towe, interim Associate Provost Ann Austin, and Vice President of Communications Emily Guerrant.

The law firm also made some broad recommendations for better policies involving its Relationship Violence, Sexual Misconduct policies and Title IX investigations. Among those recommendations:

• Adding language to encourage witnesses to cooperate with investigations

• Implementing a policy that at least two employees who are mandated reporters stay for the duration of events MSU sponsors to promote student safety and increase the likelihood that any violations of the RVSM & Title IX policy are witnessed and reported

• Increasing resources for the Office of Civil Rights, to help the Office of Institutional Equity handle the high number of reports it receives, assign two investigators to each investigative interview in line with best practices, allow interviewees to review their interview write-ups for accuracy, and field questions about the scope of mandatory reporting requirements.

Trustees had also accused Stanley of mishandling the required certification of Title IX reports on an annual basis.

Title IX violations can include gender discrimination, sexual violence, sexual harassment, retaliation and hostile work environment. They can involve students or employees.

After the board raised concerns in June of last year, the school’s Office of Audit, Risk, and Compliance conducted an audit of the Title IX certification process, according to the report, and found deficiencies. The board hired the Honigman law firm to investigate whether MSU was property certifying is reports.

Honigman's investigation found that the university did not follow state certification guidelines in 2021, which require the president and at least one board member to review each Title IX report involving an employee. Stanley had relied on the university's Title IX office, which gave him incorrect information that led to the improper reporting.

Failing to certify the Title IX reports can result in a loss of 10% of the university's operations funding.

At least some trustees raised concerns about the Title IX review process in 2019 and continued to ask for training and guidance in 2020 and 2021, Honigman's report found.

Quinn Emanuel said the trustees could improve the process by:

• Adding deadlines for the submission of Title IX reports to Trustees for review

• Using a standardized format for the reports to be prepared so key information is included in all, not just some, reports

• Using a checklist for Trustees to evaluate the reports

• Creating a formal process for trustees to ask any questions to OIE about the reports including whether referrals to other departments were, in fact, made where referenced; and

• Providing training to the trustees on how to review the reports

Quinn Emanuel said it reviewed more than 9,300 documents and did voluntary interviews with 11 people, including Gupta and Woodruff.

The firm also said 22 current or former MSU employees or university community members eitherdeclined or didn't respond to Quinn Emanuel’s requests for interviews. Among those were key administrators in the Broad College and members of FASA. No one from the Office of Institutional Equity agreed to speak with the firm.

The firm noted that both Woodruff and the Faculty Senate urged the Board of Trustees to halt its investigation during the interview process.

It added that during his interview, Gupta said two other deans may have been treated differently by MSU for violations similar to what the business school dean was accused of. School officials told the law firm that neither dean had faced allegations of a mandatory reporting failure or been the subject of an adverse finding by Office of Institutional Equity, and the trustees told Quinn Emanuel not to further investigate Gupta's allegations.

Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.