The University of Guelph is promising to put in place recommendations made in two recent reports, one dealing with sexual violence and the other made in response to the firing of disgraced track coach Dave Scott-Thomas.
On Jan. 13, U of G president Charlotte Yates penned a letter to the University of Guelph community regarding the two reports.
The first of two reports was made by the Sexual Violence Task Force and shared with the U of G board of governors late in the fall of 2020.
The second report was completed externally by McLaren Global Sport Solutions (MGSS) and was made in direct response to the firing of Scott-Thomas. That report is dated Nov. 25, 2020 but only recently made public.
Scott-Thomas was fired by the university in December 2019 after a complaint was made against the coach and an investigation was made into past inappropriate sexual behaviour toward a student athlete.
In the letter, Yates said she was ‘shocked and angered’ at the revelations brought to the university’s attention about Scott-Thomas’s behaviour and breach of trust.
“In my thirty-plus years as an educator, this has been one of the most difficult situations that I have encountered,” said Yates in the letter. “I felt — and continue to feel — a deep sense of responsibility to take corrective action.”
The 112-page MGSS report was made with interviews with 20 university coaches and a survey of 289 student athletes, among other consultations. The report includes 139 recommendations, including eight key recommendations.
Those key recommendations include:
- the development of a new coaches code of conduct
- creating an accessible and clearly-defined process for student athletes and coach to report complaints anonymously, without fear of censure or recrimination.
- mandatory sexual violence and bystander intervention training for all student-athletes, coaches, and other athlete support personnel
Although it was crated as a direct result of his misconduct, the MGSS report mentions Scott-Thomas by name only once, in the introductory pages of the 112-page document.
The Sexual Violence Task Force was created following a provincial directive to all post-secondary institutions, not in response to the Scott-Thomas situation. The intent of that report was to review and offer recommendations on U of G’s sexual violence policies, processes and educational programming.
The recommendations of the Sexual Violence Task Force include: addressing safety and security needs of groups statistically known to experience higher prevalence of sexual violence, assessing the University’s sexual violence education and training programs, reviewing the University’s complaint process, as well as ensuring that education and support initiatives focus on safe disclosure and reporting and provide information and support for survivors.
In the letter, Yates said U of G is reviewing the recommendations and noted the university has implemented and updated numerous policy and procedural changes related to sexual violence, sexual harassment and safe disclosure..
“Despite receiving two sets of recommendations and having a solid policy framework, many important steps remain and there is still much to do,” said Yates in the letter. “U of G’s leaders are committed to doing that work so that future generations of students, faculty and staff can work and study in a safe and positive environment.”
Neither the letter or the reports were sent to local media.
In an email, Lori Bona Hunt, U of G's director of communications and public affairs, said the university does not issue news releases for its routine annual reports.
"Both (reports) were included in the president's letter as it was intended to be an update/round up of various reports and sexual assault initiatives across campus," said Bona Hunt.
