During a board of trustees meeting on Friday, university President Bob Caslen said the Title IX task force will perform a complete policy review of its policies surrounding faculty and staff conduct.
“The intent is that a policy review will ensure that we have policies in place, and we will take the necessary processes and procedures to ensure that all university personnel are protected against bullying and uncivil behavior, and will hold accountable violations of employee standards of ethical conduct,” Caslen said.
Caslen said before The State’s article about USC’s response to the sexual assault lawsuits was published, he formed the Interpersonal Violence workgroup to handle prevention, advocacy and a “holistic review of every single case from, really, five separate lines of effort.”
"Our training, which is part of prevention, how these incidents are reported, how they’re investigated, and how they’re adjudicated and how do we provide advocacy in support of our victims and survivors, and those that are alleged assailants,” Caslen said.
The cases of David Voros, Robert Richmond, Michael Dollar and David Snyder will all be reviewed, according to reporting done by The State.
In addition to the Interpersonal Violence workgroup, the university established a Title IX task force. The task force is charged with assessing USC's systems for handling accusations of sexual violence and has 45 days to submit information they find. The task force was formed in response to The State's article, Caslen said.
The board also approved a two-year contract extension for men’s basketball coach Frank Martin. The contract renewal was discussed after a recommendation from athletic director Ray Tanner.
Martin’s current contract was set to expire in March 2023 but was extended to March 2025. Martin will continue to receive his current compensation of $3.3 million until 2025.
However, the university amended his contract to state that if the university terminates Martin after the 2021-2022 season, USC would owe him no more than $3 million. His initial contract stated the university would owe $3.3 million.
If his contract is terminated after the 2022-2023 season, USC will not provide Martin with a buyout. If Martin terminates his current contract, he would owe the university $500,000, but the university amended the contract so Martin would not be under obligation to owe the university any amount.
The board also extended men’s basketball assistant coach Chuck Martin’s contract for one year. If Frank Martin’s contract is terminated, then Chuck Martin’s contract will also be terminated. His contract doesn’t include a buyout agreement.
The board of trustee's ad hoc committee on information technology discussed improving cybersecurity throughout campus to advance online education at the university.
Faculty representative Mark Cooper said their goal is to implement "IT-related policies and governance" to improve compliance in areas.
Emma Dooling and Marina Catullo contributed to the reporting seen in this article.