Report faults FSU president

An investigation finds that officials failed to enforce the school's sexual harassment policy.

By DIANE RADO

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 3, 2000

TALLAHASSEE -- For more than a decade, Florida State University failed to properly investigate and resolve sexual harassment complaints against a law school professor accused of everything from making crude comments in the classroom to exposing himself to a female student, a new report says.

FSU president and former law school dean Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte "bears direct responsibility" for that failure, according to the findings of an exhaustive investigation into sexual harassment allegations and other issues that have tainted the law school's reputation.

Since last spring, at least six law school faculty members have left, including women who charged that FSU failed to respond to or condoned discrimination, harassment and inappropriate conduct. The university's office of inspector general hired an outside law firm -- BakerBotts of Austin, Texas -- to look into the allegations.

The report released Wednesday came to two conclusions that pleased FSU officials: no pattern of sexual harassment of female students by male faculty, and no evidence of a hostile work work environment, based on gender or race.

However, FSU's handling of allegations against law professor William McHugh, and D'Alemberte's role in that case, is severely criticized.

While FSU had policies in place to protect students against sexual harassment, D'Alemberte and other FSU administrators "consciously neglected in certain circumstances to enforce FSU's clear written policy for handling such complaints," the report states.

The investigators noted that D'Alemberte's close working relationship and high regard for McHugh's wife, Donna McHugh -- who works in university relations at FSU -- "creates an appearance of impropriety and favoritism."

"Any judgment D'Alemberte renders in the matter lacks credibility and may be questioned . . ." the report states.

In a written response to the conclusions, D'Alemberte accused investigators of distorting statements, engaging in "sloppy thinking" and a "gross distortion of the record," among other criticisms.

D'Alemberte also pointed out his record in improving the handling of sexual harassment complaints: He replaced FSU's general counsel; pushed for the creation of a new sexual harassment policy that requires all complaints to go to the FSU's inspector general's office; and urged the inspector general to conduct education sessions on sexual harassment and other issues for faculty and staff.

"When I became president I was not satisfied with the way that we were doing things . . . and took action to remedy these problems," D'Alemberte wrote.

D'Alemberte, 67, began serving as FSU president in 1994, and had served as law school dean between 1984 and 1989.

In the 1980s, problems were already brewing with McHugh, a law school professor who was running a center for employment relations and law at FSU.

Staff complained about his offensive and obscene language, his dirty jokes and his degrading comments about women, records show. After one women filed a formal complaint about McHugh's behavior, personnel official Jim Tinsley went to D'Alemberte.

"His response to me was that he didn't want anything to do with it," Tinsley told investigators.

While McHugh was a law school professor, D'Alemberte said McHugh reported to another supervisor and not to the law school dean.

He said he recalled being told by the Dean of Faculties that this was not a matter for the law school.

D'Alemberte also said he had "no knowledge, not even hearsay knowledge," of a second complaint against McHugh in the late 1980s. But investigators took issue with his version of events: "D'Alemberte's statements that he was not involved, was told to stay out, and did not know what happened are not credible," the reports states.

The allegations against McHugh would continue.

In February 1996, a law school student complained that McHugh was making sexually offensive remarks in class and racially offensive remarks outside of class.

FSU Provost Lawrence G. Abele acknowledged that the complaint "just sort of drifted," until June 1997, and said there was "no reason why this should have been allowed to lay around so long," according to the report.

D'Alemberte gave McHugh a letter dated June 24, 1997, warning that McHugh's use of profanity and off-color remarks in the classroom is unacceptable.

Investigators noted that D'Alemberte initially provided an unsigned copy of the letter to McHugh, allowing him a chance to read it and acknowledge that it was appropriate before D'Alemberte signed it.

A year later, the most serious charge against McHugh surfaced:

While in his office, McHugh was showing a law school student and another research assistant his hernia scar when his pants slipped down, exposing his stomach and penis.

The law school student filed a formal complaint.

After a series of reviews of the case, McHugh was given a written reprimand.

McHugh, 67, remains a tenured professor at the law school, although he is not teaching class. He is working a center for professional development at FSU, helping with legal courses offered on-line and reviewing contracts with state agencies.

There have been no complaints against him, said Susann Rudasill, associate director at the center.

State university system chancellor Adam Herbert had not yet received the FSU report Wednesday afternoon, but plans to review it, a spokesman said.

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