University of Illinois panel to review sex misconduct rules

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - The University of Illinois has created a committee of faculty and administrators to review its sexual misconduct policies and students are calling for a say in the process.

The 12-member committee of faculty and administrators met for the first time Wednesday, The News-Gazette reported. The group is reviewing the university’s policy on sexual harassment complaints against faculty, including sanctions and confidentiality rules.

University law professor Rob Kar, who chairs the committee, said he aims to have concrete recommendations by the end of the semester, though implementation may take longer.

“I have been wanting to get on this yesterday,” Kar said. “I want us to be a national leader in this thing. I want us to come up with some really good ideas that can be replicated, and I want it to happen now.”

Issues with the university’s polices arose after three women - one student and two professors - filed sexual misconduct complaints against university law professor Jay Kesan. Students then raised concerns that the university wasn’t taking enough action because Kesan remained a tenured faculty member even after an investigation found he violated the university’s code of conduct. Kesan later agreed to take an unpaid leave of absence and undergo counseling.

The Illinois Student Bar Association has been vocal in pushing for the campus to review its policies. The group will likely continue push to have a student sit on the committee, said Ashley Kennedy, the association’s president.

“We want to make sure that the students’ voices are still being heard,” she said.

The campus welcomes student involvement, said Bill Bernhard, the vice provost for academic affairs. Students will be included in several other sexual harassment committees that focus on graduate students, undergraduate students and consensual relationships between students and faculty, he said.

“This one is more focused on faculty issues,” Bernhard said, noting that the committee will gather information from students when it considers issues that involves them.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com