AMHERST — The University of Massachusetts has hired a private company to review sexual-based misconduct reported on campus and at off-campus fraternities over the past seven years.
The decision to hire Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting, announced Friday by Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, comes as a response to students’ advocacy for preventing sexual assault, supporting survivors and improving campus culture, a push that has intensified this semester as the result of an anonymous online accusation made against a fraternity in September.
Subbaswamy pledged to bring on the independent investigator during a forum at the Student Union Ballroom where high-ranking campus officials gathered with hundreds of students on Sept. 28.
“Retaining CIC, a firm that is known for its expertise in conducting impartial and detailed investigations of local and state agencies, represents one aspect of the promise I made at last week’s campus forum to take meaningful steps to thoroughly address issues related to sexual misconduct and develop practices and procedures to more effectively confront this challenge,” Subbaswamy wrote in a letter to the campus community.
The hiring of CIC comes on the heels of Subbaswamy announcing that Stroz Friedberg Digital Forensics of New York City had been hired by the university to examine racist messages that Black student organizations have received this semester.
CIC is led by Dan Bennett, a former Worcester County prosecutor who oversaw the state Department of Public Safety, and Kerry Gilpin, a former Massachusetts State Police colonel who led that agency.
The university will supply the company with information about sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and other gender-based offenses pursuant to Title IX or the Violence Against Women Act reported to any UMass office since Sept. 1, 2014, the seven-year period for records retention mandated by federal Title IX law.
Subbaswamy wrote that the company will have several tasks, including:
■Organizing and reviewing reports and providing legal, investigative and advisory insight on the nature of allegations or violations, their perpetrators and survivors, and trends relevant to alleged misconduct.
■Working with student groups and relevant university faculty and staff to understand the current climate around sexual assault.
■Making comprehensive legal, investigative and advisory recommendations, based on its findings and national best practices, on how to enhance sexual assault prevention efforts, increase reporting of offenses, and promote a culture of transparency, communication and safety.
“Based on the findings of the review, the campus will take specific steps to ensure that our practices and procedures to prevent sexual assault and support survivors are as impactful as possible,” Subbaswamy wrote.
UMass spokeswoman Edward Blaguszewski said there is no timeline for how long CIC’s work will take.
“We do want to proceed as promptly as possible,” Blaguszewski said.
Subbaswamy also announced that he will continue to work with the Student Government Association to adopt a version of the Survivor’s Bill of Rights, which has been sought since 2015 and is aligned with federal and state law. Other measures are also anticipated, including formation of a Title IX Student Advisory Committee.
“Like you, I am saddened and angry when I hear the stories of survivors,” Subbaswamy wrote. “I am hopeful that we can channel our energies and emotions into something positive and together we can make our campus a safer and more welcoming place for all.”
