Despite a “preponderance of evidence” that Brian Schrader, a tenured professor of psychology, likely sexually harassed an undergraduate student from South Korea last year in Visser Hall, the student has been left shaken by what she says is the university’s failure to take appropriate action.
As of this Spring semester, Schrader is the general adviser for all undergraduate psychology students, according to the psychology department.
The Bulletin is withholding the Korean student’s real name and will be referring to her as “Jane” within this story to protect her against the stigma of reporting sexual misconduct. The Bulletin is naming Schrader because of the “preponderance of evidence” that indicated he violated the university’s sexual conduct policy, according to the final summary of the investigation.
Jane provided The Bulletin with more than 150 pages of correspondence with administrative officials and official documents related to the investigation. The documents provide a rare, inside glimpse into how the university handles misconduct against faculty, and how the university might seek to keep a lid on such investigations by asking the students who file the complaints to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Jane decided to break her non-disclosure agreement and talk with The Bulletin despite the possibility of retaliation, because she felt like it was more important to say that what happened was wrong.
“He may have done the same thing to other students that he did to me,” Jane said. “I want to inform other students that there are institutions and procedures that (they) can consult if the same thing happens to (them).”
Jane said she felt like The Bulletin was the only one to take her case seriously.
“Things didn’t turn out well in my past experience with school administrators so I feel really tired from meeting with people and having interviews,” Jane said. “I’m afraid. I’m feeling like ‘Is there going to be any changes? Even though I’m doing this (talking with The Bulletin) right now?’ I just feel very tired, kind of hopeless.”
Jane told The Bulletin that she feels that the university and the university’s process failed her.
“When I was seeking help from police, from the school administrators, I was anticipating that they would help me, because I was sexually assaulted,” said Jane in an interview with The Bulletin. “I really believed that the school would help me, but…the professor came back to the school. I’m very frustrated and feel like giving up. I feel like no one is really going to stand up for me at the school.”
When Bulletin reporters went to Schrader’s office and asked him about the incident, he said, “I think at this point, I’ll just have to say I’m not going to comment.”
Schrader is the faculty adviser to the Gamers Guild and is also a Parish Ministry Associate at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1508 W. 12th Ave. Schrader graduated with his PhD in psychology from Louisiana State University in 1993.
Schrader was paid $15,855 from May 22 to Aug. 11, 2017, for teaching six credit hours and for summer advising, according to Schrader’s employment contracts obtained through an Open Records request. For the Aug. 14, 2017, to May 18, 2018, school year Schrader will make $71,937. Schrader did not teach any classes last semester, according to the Psychology Department.
According to Jane, during a May 4, 2017, meeting Schrader accused her of academic misconduct and then asked if she wanted to make it up. Jane offered to write an essay, redo the homework or redo the chapter, but Schrader told her “no.” As she was crying, because she was upset at being accused of cheating, Schrader asked if she would like a tissue.
“I nodded and said ‘Yes,’” Jane said. “He grabbed a tissue and while he tried to pass the tissue, he held my hand and rubbed his thumb on my hand.”
Jane said that Schrader rubbed her hand for several minutes before suggesting that they go somewhere else. Since Jane was upset and has limited English abilities, she did not fully understand what he was saying, but agreed to go. Jane said that he then took her down a hallway, behind a locked door and into a small storage room.
Jane said the room had a window to the outside, where the blinds were closed, a window to the hallway which was covered by cardboard and two chairs in the middle of the room facing each other. She stood in front of one of the chairs crying, while she said Schrader stood in front of the door, with the lights out.
“He didn’t say anything,” Jane said. “He just came up to me really close and then he petted my hair.”
Schrader asked if the action was okay, according to Jane. Jane said she was very confused and was afraid that if she said no, she was going to be in trouble, so she said yes and he got closer.
“He tried to kiss me,” Jane said. “He moved close to me so I just sat down in the chair immediately…I asked him, ‘What are you doing?’ and he said to me ‘Do you want to go out?’ so I said ‘Yes.’… So he opened the door. I walked out through the hallway.”
Jane went back to Schrader’s office where she had left her things. She then reported the incident to her adviser over email and talked to campus police and the Office of International Education the next day.
After the university Title IX investigation was completed July 4, 2017, Ray Lauber, director of Human Resources, Affirmative Action and Title IX Coordinator, emailed Jane a memorandum on July 17, which was a three-page final summary of the investigation. Schrader is a tenured faculty member with no other university allegations of sexual assault, according to the memorandum.
“The investigation finds a preponderance of evidence that Dr. Schrader abused his authority as professor and violated ESU’s sexual harassment policy by inviting Jane to another room in return for not reporting Jane for academic misconduct,” Lauber said in the memorandum.
There were no formal proceedings of academic dishonesty, according to Jane. The accusation of academic dishonesty never progressed past Schrader accusing Jane of academic dishonesty on May 4 in his office.
In a July 21, 2017, letter to Jane, David Cordle agreed with Lauber.
“I agree with the findings that Dr. Schrader abused his authority as professor and violated ESU’s sexual harassment policy,” Cordle said. “Although I am unable to disclose specific details of the consequences to Dr. Schrader, please know that we are addressing his actions in accordance with ESU policy and applicable state and federal laws.”
Jane was given 30 days to submit a written appeal, according to the July 21 letter from Cordle. However, Jane told The Bulletin that the specific consequences and the official outcome of the investigation were never made clear to her.
“We hope that overall your experience as a student at Emporia State University has been positive, and we regret that in this instance it was not,” Cordle wrote in the July 21 letter. “Best regards.”
The final summary detailed multiple reasons why Lauber found Jane’s telling of the events to be credible.
Lauber cited a reenactment of the incident between Schrader and Jane that Jane and another student demonstrated for Lisa Moritz, associate affirmative action officer and Title IX deputy coordinator and Lauber. Lauber said that Jane increased the spacing between her and the other student when the other student moved closer to Jane than she thought Schrader had been.
In the memorandum, Lauber said he believed that Schrader’s reasonings as to why Jane would lie about the incident were not likely to be true.
“Dr. Schrader hypothesized Jane’s allegations may be a result of the consequences of academic misconduct specifically failing the course and the shame of academic misconduct,” Lauber wrote. “This seems unlikely for a number of reasons.”
For Schrader’s hypothesis to be true, Jane would need a deeper understanding of American law and culture than she appears to have, the memorandum said. Additionally, Jane had failed a class before and did not ask for ways to change her grade or make allegations in that instance.
Additionally, on May 3, 2017, Jane recognized that she did not have a sufficient grade in the course and enrolled to retake the course during the summer, according to a screenshot of her enrollment history that she sent to a ESU Police and Safety officer in a May 7, 2017 email.
“Again, since I already planned to retake this course, I have never tried to take an advantage from him,” Jane said in the email to campus police.
In the memorandum, Lauber noted the power difference between the student and the faculty member.
“The difference in power is significant,” Lauber wrote. “Dr. Schrader is a tenured professor who expresses confidence and authority. Jane is an international student possessing limited English skills.”
The findings section of the memorandum listed several key facts that the investigation found to be true.
According to Lauber, Jane’s telling of the events was consistent throughout the entire investigation processes.
“Jane’s allegations were consistently reported to multiple individuals,” Lauber said. “The first report was within approximately an hour of the occurrence. Last report was about a week after the situation. The narrative did not grow or change in any material way between the reports.”
Additionally, Schrader preempted ESU Campus Police and Safety’s questions about the room in question, which Lauber noted in the memorandum.
“The officers asked a general question about a suite of rooms and Dr. Schrader stated that Jane had been in an office in the hallway suite earlier in the semester,” Lauber said. “The officers made no prior indication that the events were alleged to have taken place anywhere other than Dr. Schrader’s office.”
Lauber found the mention of the room to be significant, according to the analysis section of Lauber’s memorandum.
“Dr. Schrader’s interview with Police and Safety carries particular weight,” Lauber said. “Insofar as Dr. Schrader explained why Jane was able to describe VH 344G (the storage room), even before the officers gave any indication that the incident may have occurred in a room other than Dr. Schrader’s office. VH 344G is assigned to Dr. Schrader.”
The memorandum said that Schrader claimed that a campus group and another faculty member used the room in which the alleged incident occurred.
“Upon review, neither of these claims appear to be true,” Lauber said in his memorandum.
According to the memorandum, Schrader is the only person associated with the I/O psychology program that has a key, and the room is generally regarded as his storage room.
“Additionally, any access to that room by SSIOP (a campus group for psychology students) or other faculty members would require them to obtain a key from Dr. Schrader, the department office or the dean’s office,” Lauber said.
Jane’s description of the room proved to be accurate, according to the memorandum.
“Cardboard is currently placed in the window of the office,” Lauber wrote. “This office was the only room with two chairs facing each other.”
As of Feb. 8, Schrader is still employed by the university, according to Gwen Larson, assistant director of marketing and media relations.
A letter from President Allison Garrett to Rob Catlett, president of Faculty Senate, was read during the Feb. 6 Faculty Senate meeting. Garrett’s letter to the senate said that she had made a decision in a case, but did not say what the decision was or what the case was about. Garrett also withheld the name of the faculty member, at the request of the faculty member.
While not clear whether or not the letter is related to Schrader and this event, the letter was dated Dec. 22, 2017, which falls in line with the timeline set by the University Policy Manual.
Larson declined to comment on if Schrader took any leave in the last 12 months, citing that ESU does not release personnel information. Larson did confirm that a complaint was made against a faculty member in 2017, but did not release the name of the faculty member or the nature of the complaint.
“This complaint was handled pursuant to the requirements of state and federal law, as well as Board of Regents and Emporia State University policies,” Larson said in a statement released Tuesday. “Personnel information and student information are confidential and your questions cannot be answered without violating this confidentiality. Emporia State University takes all complaints seriously and handles each complaint pursuant to applicable law and policy.”
Garrett has not responded to repeated requests for an in-person interview. Garrett, Cordle, Lauber, Moritz and Jim Persinger, chair of the psychology department, all declined to comment, citing university policy. They redirected all questions to Larson.
The county attorney declined to prosecute.
“I saw a lot of American men and they looked like Brian Schrader,” Jane said in a letter to Garrett on August 18, 2017. “I was filled with fear and suddenly my mood fell. I will face a Brian Schrader every day when the semester starts. His office is on the third floor and most of my psychology classes are on the third floor.”
