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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967)
is publishing weekly on Wednesdays
for the Winter 2022 semester by
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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2 — Wednesday, June 8, 2022
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UMich receives $3.5 million reimbursement
for Philbert settlement
UMich receives a $3.5 million reimbursement for the Philbert settlement following the
November 2020 $9.25 million settlement for survivors
The University of Michigan will
receive a $3.5 million reimbursement
from Munich Reinsurance America
for its November 2020 $9.25 million
settlement with eight survivors of
former University Provost Martin
Philbert’s sexual misconduct. The
University had an agreement with
Munich Reinsurance America that
they could be reimbursed up to $4
million for the settlement.
Philbert was removed from his
position in March 2020 following
almost
two
months
of
paid
administrative leave. The University
hired the firm WilmerHale to
investigate over 20 allegations of
sexual misconduct brought against
Philbert. In their July 2020 report,
The monkeypox virus: What is it, and should
you be concerned?
Washtenaw County official and U-M Global Health professor share information on the
monkeypox virus and whether we should be worried
Brian
Chambers,
a
Ward
3
resident and U-M alumni, has a
long history of housing advocacy
in the city. This year, his 39-page
volunteer project, titled “Ann Arbor’s
NADIR AL-SAIDI
Daily News Editor
SAMANTHA RICH
Summer News Editor
Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com
NEWS
RESEARCH
WilmerHale said they had found
evidence of over 15 years of sexual
misconduct, during which Philbert
served as an assistant professor,
an associate dean, School of Public
Health Dean and University Provost.
WilmerHale
also
alleged
that
multiple U-M officials, including
former University President Mark
Schlissel, were aware of allegations
against Philbert but did not pursue
them further.
Rising
LSA
senior
Abigail
Nighswonger,
an
LSA
student
government
representative
who
helped
form
the
LSA
Student
Government Sexual Misconduct Task
Force, said she felt the University
does not do enough to hold those in
power accountable for their actions.
“I
would
characterize
the
University’s culture as excusatory,”
Nighswonger said. “People in the
highest levels are not held to the same
standards as everybody else. There’s
always an excuse to let it continue to
happen.”
In 1986, the University created
Veritas, its own private insurance
subsidiary, to ensure the availability
of funds to compensate community
members for any losses or damages.
In an email to The Michigan
Daily, University spokesperson Rick
Fitzgerald wrote that Veritas paid
the entire amount agreed to in the
Philbert settlement, meaning no
general U-M funds, including tuition
and public funding, were used to
pay. Fitzgerald explained that the
reimbursement the University will
receive is a result of an existing
agreement between Veritas and
Munich.
“Veritas had a reinsurance policy
with Munich to cover a portion
of claim costs in excess of ($4
million),”
Fitzgerald
wrote.
“Veritas sought to recover funds
consistent with that policy. Munich
denied the claim and initiated
litigation against Veritas. Now
Veritas and Munich settled the
claim.”
Veritas will also pay the $490
million settlement with over 1,000
survivors of the late Dr. Robert
Anderson that was agreed to in
January of this year. A May 2021
report from WilmerHale found
evidence of 37 years of sexual abuse
including subjecting students to
invasive, inappropriate treatments
and procedures as a physician for
University Health Service and the
U-M Athletic Department.
Middle-Income
Needs
Analysis:
Introducing
the
Neighborhood
Assistance Corporation of America
(NACA),” motivated a May 5 City
Council resolution to collect and
communicate
home
mortgage
information. In an interview with
The Michigan Daily, Chambers gave
his first-hand account of the wealth-
building power of homeownership.
“I bought my first house when I was
in graduate school (at the University)
in 1984, with a joint investment from
my in-laws,” Chambers said. “…since
then, the housing price has increased
a lot but we’ve been able to keep our
housing cost at 1984 levels, as the
mortgage payments are fixed.”
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, if Chambers was not a
homeowner, the rent he would be
paying today would have increased by
75% from the level it was at in 2000.
The average housing price in Ann
Arbor, on the other hand, is now five
times the level it was in 1984.
Prospective home buyers must
have enough savings to cover the
downpayment and closing cost before
buying a house. The post-pandemic
housing boom has made reaching
this saving threshold increasingly
difficult. According to the Ann Arbor
Area Board of Realtors, for-sale home
inventory in Ann Arbor has shrunk
by almost 60% in the past year, while
the median price of single family
homes increased by 11.4%. In an
interview with TheDaily, Lauren
Corneliussen, a buyer’s agent based
in Ann Arbor, explained how these
trends cause frustration for first-
time home buyers.
“It could take as many as three
deals to get your final accepted
offer,” Corneliussen said. “(For
homebuyers), it takes longer to
buy, it’s harder to buy and it’s more
stressful, and you pay for stress in
money by losing work or making
snap decisions.”
Chambers
said
he
wants
to
unlock
homeownership
opportunities for more people
and that the story of Veronica
Brandon, who was able to own a
house thanks to mortgages from
NACA, is especially compelling
for him. He examined the U.S.
Census (between 2010 and 2019)
and Bureau of Labor Statistics to
further understand recent home
ownership patterns.
Design by Jennie Vang