The Board of Regents is meeting this morning to discuss the fallout over an alleged sexual assault that occurred on the University of Iowa campus. A St. Louis law firm hired by the board to review the incident issued its report to the board last week; this morning they’re hearing from the university’s president.
The Board of Regents today directed all three public universities to quickly create a uniform policy to address all sexual assaults which occur on the campuses in Ames, Iowa City and Cedar Falls. University of Iowa president Sally Mason publicly apologized to the state of Iowa for how the university handled the situation. Mason says she’s committed to reviewing all aspects of student services, including a crackdown on students living in rooms to which they’ve not been assigned as the alleged assault occurred in an unoccupied dorm room.
Earlier this week Mason fired the vice president of student services and the university’s legal counsel for their actions on the case. Mason also announced this morning that the university will begin assigning an advocate to students who report a sexual assault and that adult advocate will help the student navigate legal, medical and other issues that may arise.
The Regents closed the meeting to the public to meet privately with Mason for her annual job review. Her review had been delayed because of this case.