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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) 
is publishing weekly on Wednesdays 
for the Winter 2022 semester by 
students at the University of Michigan. 
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picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. 
If you would like a current copy of the 
paper mailed to you, please visit store.
pub.umich.edu/michigan-daily-buy-
this-edition to place your order.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
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

