Additional allegations in alumni lawsuit
Dear UNCSA Community,
Yesterday UNCSA received an expanded complaint in the lawsuit regarding allegations of historical sexual misconduct at UNCSA. Thirty-two additional alumni plaintiffs have joined the previous seven who filed the joint complaint in September, and additional former administrators and faculty have been named as defendants. The complaints range in time from 1969-2012.
As I wrote to you last month, UNCSA cares deeply about the safety and well-being of our students, employees and alumni, and these accounts run counter to the institutional values we hold at UNCSA. I want to reiterate that it is our intent to respond to this litigation in a manner consistent with our values — to listen to the accounts with empathy and openness; to appreciate the courage it took for our alumni to share their experiences; and to take steps to acknowledge and address any historical sexual misconduct with candor and compassion.
I cannot state strongly enough that the safety of every student and employee on our campus today is our No. 1 priority. UNCSA is committed to providing a learning, teaching and working environment that is safe and free from all forms of harassment and discrimination and enables all students to thrive. We have significant safeguards in place to protect our community against abuse of any kind, including an infrastructure for current students to report sexual misconduct or harassment; a mandatory requirement for all employees to report any sexual misconduct or harassment; and abuse prevention and education training. Additionally, we provide counseling services for students. You can access information about all of these safeguards and resources at the link below.
We are committed to routinely reviewing and improving these safeguards as well as
the Title IX reporting and response processes. I have also now heard directly from
students through listening sessions to understand existing concerns about student
safety and harassment at UNCSA. Accordingly, we will begin an additional external
review of current safeguards, reporting structures and response resources to ensure
we continue to serve student needs fully.
We encourage all students, staff and faculty to share concerns about any form of harassment
or violence with the University or with local law enforcement. Below are some of the
departments available to report to internally:
I know that reading about this subject matter may be difficult or may potentially
trigger painful thoughts or experiences. Counselors are available for students through
our Counseling Center Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can receive after-hours counseling services
through ProtoCall by calling 1-855-726-1497. In addition, Keisha Horton will provide in-person hours this evening from 8 to 10
p.m. in the Student Affairs suite located on the first floor of Hanes Commons near
the former OneCard office. If you have questions about student counseling resources,
please contact Clinical Director Stephanie Cartwright. After-hours health care is also available through HealthLink; the number is 1-888-267-3675. In addition, a list of community resources is available for support outside of our campus.
Faculty and staff may access the state’s 24/7 Employee Assistance Program administered by ComPysch by calling 1-888-311-4237.
Students, staff and faculty can also report suspected abuse or sexual and gender-based
violence to local law enforcement, and can report abuse of minors to the Forsyth County Department of Social Services or the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Information about the lawsuit can be found at uncsa.edu/response.
Sincerely,
Brian Cole
Chancellor
November 30, 2021