USC conducting legal review on employees accused of sexual harassment, Caslen says

The University of South Carolina is conducting legal reviews on four cases of alleged sexual harassment, President Robert Caslen said at a Friday board of trustees meeting.

The cases in review include allegations against art professor David Voros, theater professor Robert Richmond, history professor David Snyder and information technology employee Michael Dollar, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said.

“We just want to review these cases to make sure we did everything right,” Stensland told The State.

It’s unclear exactly what the legal review entails, but Caslen said the university is checking “in accordance of what we can do with legal statute.”

Caslen did not elaborate on the specifics of the process, and Stensland said it is unclear when the review will be completed.

Richmond, Voros and Snyder have been removed from their classrooms and were prohibited from returning to campus without prior approval. However, these professors are still on the payroll, which has led many student activists to say USC is essentially giving the accused professors a “vacation,” The State previously reported.

After The State’s investigative report on sexual harassment at USC, Caslen announced sweeping changes to how the school will respond to allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault. Those changes include hiring an independent Title IX coordinator, creating a Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, and Interpersonal Violence Office, establishing a committee to review harassment or discrimination complaints before the university closes the case and more, The State previously reported.

This story was originally published April 9, 2021 at 4:06 PM.