WASHINGTON, D.C. (AWOL) — After two American University professors and one student filed six sexual-misconduct reports about Wesley Lowery, they said they are disappointed with the speed and lack of communication from the Office of Equity and Title IX. The Office dismissed three of the complaints saying they fell outside of the office’s jurisdiction. Lowery, a former AU professor, resigned amidst these reports.
These two professors submitted the reports on behalf of students and others working with Lowery in their roles as mandated reporters. The Title IX office deemed that three of them were not under the purview of Title IX violations, according to a Washington Post March 17 article. The Office closed a fourth report after a student denied the allegations within it and closed a fifth report after a student declined an interview.
“The result of the sixth was unclear,” The Washington Post article reads.
Students and faculty said the Office didn’t address their concerns about Lowery. According to employment lawyers and a sociologist who studies sexual violence and the Title IX system, the Title IX process is inadequate and not designed to address serious concerns.
Lowery did not respond to requests for an interview. According to a Columbia Journalism Review March 12 article, Lowery said the university never reached out to him as part of the investigation into the complaints that had been filed at that time. He said he left his positions as AU adjunct professor and executive director for the Investigative Reporting Workshop voluntarily.
Cara Kelly, an adjunct professor of journalism who filed a complaint against Lowery to AU’s Office of Human Resources, said she was unsure if she agreed with the judgment that her report did not fall under Title IX policy. She said while many of those involved have been able to move on, there is a large lack of closure in terms of the university’s accountability in this matter.
“The more that I’ve gotten into it, the more that I’ve understood it as a cover for universities to say that they do something about sexual harassment and sexual assault,” Kelly said, referring to the Title IX office. “When in reality, it is a rubber stamp to let them off the hook.”
University officials ultimately referred reports to AU’s HR office and the dean of faculty or dismissed the reports, Kelly said.
Lynne Perri, the interim executive editor for IRW and a journalism professor at AU, also filed several reports on behalf of students. She said once she filed the reports, the Title IX office would communicate directly with the students and Perri would not be contacted in accordance with Title IX procedures for third-party reporters.
“It doesn’t mean it’s not very frustrating to not know what happened,” Perri said. “And I did address this after Wesley left the university. I did have a good meeting with the Title IX office about procedures and you know, what else could be done in a situation where you feel like you’re trying to protect the student experience, and yet feel that you have no knowledge of next steps or what is happening.”
Matt Bennett, AU’s vice president and chief communications officer, declined to make anyone from the Office of Equity and Title IX available for an interview.
“The Title IX process, including intake and how it proceeds, is detailed on the website,” Bennett wrote in an email to AWOL.
Reports that fall beyond the scope of the Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy will be addressed under the university’s Discrimination and Non-Title IX Sexual Misconduct Policy, which “will address the procedures for reporting and responding to those incidents,” according to AU’s Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy.
That policy does not cover sexual harassment incidents that don’t prevent someone from accessing to AU’s programming and events, occur outside AU’s programing and events or outside the United States, according to the webpage.
When someone submits a Title IX incident report, the university is then able to provide temporary accommodations related to safety and support, according to the university’s Title IX FAQ webpage. Staff members will then contact them for next steps.
Who Title IX helps
Matthew Famiglietti, an employment lawyer, said Title IX claims can often become intertwined with human relations violations. Title IX discrimination reports regarding IRW may fall under AU’s Office of Human Relations because they involve students working under Lowery as interns, he said.
Sean Timmons, a managing partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC who handles employment law cases, said HR offices often aim to benefit the institution, not the employees.
“So, when people go to HR for resolution, it’s kind of like going to a customer service line that’s really not designed to help you out but to help the people who are causing the issue to begin with,” Timmons said.
Lynne Bernabei, a lawyer who specializes in sexual harassment cases, said students typically aren’t protected well in sexual harassment cases compared to other forms of discrimination.
A 2021 study published by CrimRxiv found that Title IX offices often serve the university’s interests — protecting its image and shielding it from liability — rather than centering students’ needs.
The authors of the study found that all 21 study participants experienced at least one form of institutional betrayal during Title IX investigations at their higher education institution.
Nicole Bedera, a sociologist and author of “On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence,” said institutional betrayal is a result of the universities’ actions or inactions throughout Title IX investigations.
She said institutional betrayal produces a traumatic impact that’s equal in severity to the sexual assault itself and therefore often exacerbates the emotional damage survivors face.
“We know that they’re protecting perpetrators and betraying survivors,” Bedera said. “I have yet to find a single Title IX office across the country that is doing a good job.”
