The University of Virginia waged an intense fight over the summer to influence the conclusions of a federal investigation into sexual violence at the school, newly obtained documents show, while the state’s governor personally pressed the nation’s top education official to ensure the elite public flagship would not be unfairly tarnished.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe urged U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to give U-Va. a chance to review findings from the four-year investigation of the school’s record on sexual assault before they were made public, saying that he feared U-Va. was being denied "very basic requirements of due process."
McAuliffe (D) also expressed concern about what he viewed as an "adversarial" posture from the investigative agency — the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights — toward U-Va. The governor said he preferred "constructive and cooperative" approaches to reform.
"I respectfully urge you to act in order to guarantee that the very important work of OCR at the University of Virginia is not undermined by any unfair or unjust process," McAuliffe wrote Duncan on Aug. 14.
Soon afterward, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine, both Democrats, also reinforced the plea to Duncan, one of the longest-serving members of President Obama’s Cabinet.
"The governor’s letter raises serious procedural questions that could affect the accuracy of the investigation," the senators wrote to Duncan on Aug. 25. "We urge you to give his concerns careful consideration."
The intervention from the politicians, in correspondence The Washington Post obtained from the federal agency, came as top U-Va. officials were raising concerns about the direction of an investigation with potential to bruise U-Va.’s public image.
Read more at The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/u-va-waged-intense-fight-to-influence-federal-sexual-assault-investigation/2015/11/03/1fd69812-79b3-11e5-bc80-9091021aeb69_story.html