Tenured English professor
Douglas
Trevor,
former
director of the Helen Zell
Writers’ Program and the
Hopwood Awards Program,
is not allowed to conduct
office hours with his door
closed or meet with students
in off-campus spaces for
the next two years. These
sanctions were instituted in
an April 30, 2020 letter from
LSA Dean Anne Curzan.
According
to
the
confidential letter, addressed
to
Trevor
and
obtained
by
The
Michigan
Daily,
Trevor is also barred from
holding formal leadership
positions at the University
of Michigan for the next two
years, though Curzan wrote
that his professional conduct
would be re-evaluated at the
end of this period. Trevor
will also not be eligible for
a merit increase in his base
salary in the next faculty
salary program.
As Trevor continues to
teach at the University —
with
two
undergraduate
classes scheduled for Winter
2021 — a Daily investigation
into Trevor has unearthed
two previously undisclosed
allegations of harassment,
retaliation and intimidation
against Trevor. The Daily
has also learned of one
previously
undisclosed
allegation that when a Helen
Zell student came to him
with concerns about another
faculty member’s behavior,
Trevor warned the student
against
threatening
the
educational environment.
These allegations, made
by three female students
and staff at the University
between
2016
and
2019,
date back to January 2017
and extend to April 2019.
These accounts have been
corroborated
by
friends,
fellow
students
and
colleagues of the women who
were present at the time.
The Daily has also reviewed
correspondence
between
Trevor and the women who
shared their accounts as well
as between administrators.
Trevor was the director
of the Helen Zell Writers’
Program — the University’s
prestigious creative writing
graduate program — from
2016 until December 2018,
when
he
stepped
down,
citing family-related reasons
in an email to program
participants. In Fall 2018, he
also directed the Hopwood
Program,
which
hosts
creative
writing
awards
for University students and
partners
frequently
with
Helen Zell, stepping down
from that directorship at the
end of the year as well.
In response to an email
from
The
Daily,
Curzan
declined
to
comment
on
this
letter.
University
spokesperson
Rick
Fitzgerald
noted
in
an
interview with The Daily
that the University does
not comment on personnel
matters
to
respect
the
privacy
of
employees.
Fitzgerald added that this
letter from Curzan “speaks
for itself.”
Curzan’s April 2020 letter
followed an OIE investigation
into Trevor, which concluded
in February 2020. The OIE
investigation
did
not
find
Trevor’s
conduct
to
be
“sufficiently severe, persistent
or
pervasive
to
create
a
sexually hostile environment,”
but Curzan wrote that Trevor
had “created an intimidating,
hostile, and offensive climate”
in the Helen Zell Writers’
Program.
In an email to The Daily,
Trevor denied that he had ever
engaged in sexual misconduct.
In
addressing
other
allegations,
he
referenced
the
findings
of
the
OIE
investigation, writing that OIE
found the allegations to not be
“valid.”
“After this investigation, the
OIE correctly determined that
I did not violate any University
policies
related
to
sexual
harassment,” Trevor wrote.
“I am saddened by the amount
of misinformation that has
circulated about me in recent
times. I want students to
know that sexual misconduct
should not be tolerated and
that I fully support university
policies that regulate behavior
by faculty and staff.”
The
OIE
investigation
into
Trevor
was
initiated
in April 2018 by then-LSA
junior Emma Richter. The
Daily spoke to Richter, whose
allegations make up one of the
three reported in this article,
about her claims of sexual
misconduct
against
Trevor
while she worked for the
Hopwood Program.
(Richter formerly worked
for The Daily as a staff
photographer from September
2016
to
December
2018.
The Daily spoke with two
individuals
familiar
with
Richter’s
situation
and
reviewed email and iMessage
correspondence from Trevor,
corroborating the consistency
of her allegations.)
Apart
from
the
three
allegations reported in this
article,
two
anonymous
allegations
of
sexual
misconduct
against
Trevor
were also posted in June
2020 on the Twitter account
Assaulters
at
UMich,
an
anonymous
account
that
posted a series of tweets
calling out multiple alleged
assaulters on campus. One of
the two posts also claimed
that the writer’s allegations
against
Trevor
had
been
“severely mishandled.”
Amid
the
numerous
allegations that were posted on
the account against members
of the University community,
Trevor was the only University
professor to appear on the
account. Like many allegations
on the account, those against
Trevor
are
unverified
by
The
Daily.
The
Assaulters
at UMich account did not
respond to multiple requests
for comment.
The
allegations
against
Trevor follow a larger pattern
of alleged abuse from tenured
faculty
and
deterrents
to
reporting at the University
and in higher education more
broadly. In 2020, three women
came forward alleging decades’
worth of sexual harassment
from
Martin
Philbert,
the
University’s former provost
who held the office from 2017
through January 2020, when
he was placed on leave.
Also
in
2020,
other
allegations
of
sexual
misconduct
were
brought
against the late University
doctor Robert E. Anderson and
Jason Mars, assistant professor
of computer science. The latter
has recently faced controversy
for his continued teaching
appointment at the University.
The
Daily
also
uncovered
previously
undisclosed
allegations
against
former
School of Music, Theatre &
Dance
professors
Stephen
Shipps and David Daniels in
2018.
In a follow-up email to The
Daily regarding the allegations
against Trevor, Fitzgerald said
the English Department is
working to resolve inequities.
“We also can tell you that
the leadership team in the
English Department and LSA
are addressing these matters,”
Fitzgerald wrote. “Knowing
there is always more to do to
improve equity and inclusivity,
the department is engaged in a
number of ongoing initiatives
to ensure that all voices are
heard and all members of the
community feel included.”
“It got worse over time”
Richter was an LSA junior in
April 2018 when she received
an email from Trevor, who she
had met the previous month
through her work-study job
for the Hopwood Program. In
the email, Trevor wrote that
he had reported Richter to OIE
for having an inappropriate
romantic
relationship
with
another faculty member — an
allegation both the faculty
member and Richter deny. The
Daily was provided a copy of
this email.
Richter said Trevor’s email
caught her off guard. Earlier
that same day, she had gone
to OIE to consider reporting
two professors she alleged
were sexually harassing her.
One was the faculty member
Trevor alleged she was in a
relationship with.
The other was Trevor.
“It was funny — in a dark
way — to me,” Richter said.
“That Doug would do that just
seems ridiculous.”
Richter alleged that before
and
after
receiving
this
email, from March 2018 to
October 2018, Trevor sexually
harassed her while she worked
in the Hopwood Room, which
houses offices for Hopwood
Program
leadership
and
often functions as a venue for
Helen Zell-affiliated events.
According to Richter, Trevor
made inappropriate advances
toward
her
outside
the
workplace as well, inviting her
to get drinks after University-
affiliated events and taking
her out for coffee in a manner
that made her uncomfortable.
Richter
said
she
first
met Trevor a month before
receiving his email, when he
was the Helen Zell director
but had not yet become the
Hopwood director. She said
they met at a Helen Zell
welcome event, where she had
been asked to take photos.
The event had an open bar,
and Richter said Trevor had
clearly drank before he struck
up a conversation with her and
invited her to join him and
another faculty member for
drinks after the event. One of
the individuals contacted by
The Daily confirmed they had
witnessed the invitation.
Richter
remembered
declining the invitation and
stating that she was underaged.
But Trevor allegedly insisted
she accompany them, arguing
she shouldn’t walk home from
the event alone. According to
Richter, after repeated urging
from Trevor, Richter accepted
the invitation.
Richter,
Trevor
and
the
other professor went to the
Raven’s Club, where Richter
said that she witnessed Trevor
gossip
about
Helen
Zell
students’ sex lives.
“It was … like making fun
in a mean way,” Richter said.
“The other piece of it that
was uncomfortable was … in
contrast … (Trevor) saying and,
directed towards me, being
like, ‘You’re so mature, Emma,
you know. You completely get
it.’”
That
evening
was
only
the
beginning
of
several
encounters
with
Trevor
that Richter said made her
uncomfortable. The site of
these subsequent encounters
was
frequently
Richter’s
workplace,
especially
with
Trevor set to take over as
Hopwood
Director
in
Fall
2018.
Richter also alleged that
Trevor would regularly hug her
and touch her inappropriately
on the shoulders, hand and
small of her back outside of
that encounter.
“It got worse over time,”
Richter said. “You know, the
small of your back becomes
your butt.”
In one specific encounter,
Richter alleges that Trevor
saw her in the Hopwood
Room, where he walked up to
her and began rubbing her arm
while pointing out she hadn’t
responded to an invitation to
coffee with him. Richter said
this interaction made her feel
like agreeing to coffee was
“something I have to do.” The
Daily
reviewed
iMessages
between Trevor and Richter
after their coffee meeting.
“Yes, that was fun,” Trevor
texted Richter after they went
to coffee. “Let’s do it again
sometime soon. Good luck
with all your responsibilities!!
Remember to make time to
feed the soul.”
Richter decided to formally
report Trevor and went to
OIE on April 23, 2018. Richter
shared
that
this
process
presented
frustrations
of
its own, particularly after
Richter learned that her case
had been transferred from one
investigator to another in May
2018.
Daily investigation finds allegations of harassment,
retaliation and intimidation against English professor
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 — 3
JULIANNA MORANO
Focal Point Reporter
A spokesperson for Snyder
has previously said the state
took proactive steps to work
with communities on the issues
caused by the crisis.
Bacteria in the damaged
water
resulted
in
at
least
90 cases of a severe form
of pneumonia and at least
12
deaths.
Former
health
director Nick Lyon, one of
the
individuals
charged,
previously said he knew of
the reported cases months
before
the
outbreak
was
publicly addressed by Snyder
in January 2016.
Lyon was previously accused
of involuntary manslaughter
charges for failing to inform
the public about the outbreak
in a timely manner. In June
2019,
prosecutors
working
under Nessel dismissed the
case, as well as charges against
seven other individuals.
The
disaster
in
Flint
gained national recognition,
with
many
criticizing
the
city and state for extensive
governmental mismanagement,
environmental
degradation
and racial bias.
The
Michigan
Court
of
Appeals is hearing a large
group of ongoing cases between
multiple plaintiffs and the state
of Michigan and the city of
Flint, among other defendants.
It is likely many of those cases
will be resolved in a settlement
between
residents
and
the
city and state, though some
have protested the possible
agreement saying it did not
include all necessary measures.
This article has been updated
to include the specific charges
announced
against
former
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.
Daily Staff Reporter Kate
Weiland can be reached at
kmwblue@umich.edu.
SNYDER
From Page 1
Five people have died from injuries
or conditions inflicted at the Capitol
Wednesday, including a Capitol police
officer.
Meshawn
Maddock,
Weiser’s
co-chair running mate, organized
buses to take Michiganders to
Washington D.C. Wednesday. In a
Thursday tweet, Maddock wrote
that she condemns the violence
and breaching of the Capitol “in the
strongest possible terms.”
“The rally was supposed to be a
peaceful event and people who broke
the law should be held accountable,”
Maddock wrote. “I am horrified at the
death of the young woman and pray for
the healing of our nation.”
Maddock
is
director
of
the
Michigan
Conservative
Coalition,
which in a Wednesday morning email
to members prayed that God “convict”
members of Congress, judges and other
elected officials who have “refused to
get involved” in overturning Biden’s
election victory.
“The real war we are fighting is
for the spiritual soul and God-given
destiny of our nation,” the email reads.
Weiser told Bridge on Thursday that
Maddock was watching the chaos in
D.C. from a hotel room window.
“I don’t believe she was part of it,”
Weiser said. “I don’t believe she incited
it.”
LSA junior Ryan Fisher, chairman
of the University’s College Republicans,
condemned the petition in a text
message to The Daily.
“This is an insignificant attack
on a great regent, one that is unlikely
to succeed,” Fisher wrote. “The
accusations levied by recall proponents
are empty and impetuous.”
Public Policy senior Ben Gerstein,
former Central Student Government
president, expressed his support for the
petition in a tweet Friday afternoon,
demanding University administrators
and President Mark Schlissel notice
the call for Weiser’s resignation or
recall.
“Beyond his role in elevating
President Trump’s fascist movement,
Regent Weiser has shielded himself
from scrutiny through both his
personal donations to the University
and his position on the Board of
Regents,” Gerstein tweeted. “As the
former and incoming Chairman of
the Michigan GOP, and his past role as
the RNC’s fundraising coordinator for
President Trump, he is complicit in the
events that culminated in Wednesday’s
attempted white supremacist coup.”
WEISER
From Page 1
FOCAL POINT
Design by Madison Grosvenor
Design by Samuel Turner
See FOCAL POINT, Page 4
Douglas Trevor continues to teach, but is barred from meeting students off-campus, holding leadership positions for two years
ALEC COHEN/Daily