University of Northern Colorado president Kay Norton today pledged a thorough investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by theater professor Vance Fulkerson, saying the truth will probably be “complicated and painful.”
“The University of Northern Colorado has placed no limits on the investigation,” Norton said, reading from a statement at the beginning of a news conference this morning, the first time she has spoken publicly about the allegations. “We will fully investigate Mr. Fulkerson’s conduct, as well as how the university responded to the conduct over the years. We will not shrink from the truth, whatever it may be.”
Fulkerson, 63, was arrested last week and has been charged with a felony count of sexual exploitation of a child, as well as two lesser counts. He is accused of secretly videotaping young men as they used his toilet, according to an arrest affidavit.
In the days since Fulkerson’s arrest, a number of former students and colleagues have come forward saying they made complaints going back nearly two decades about Fulkerson’s behavior to university officials, only to see little apparent action on those complaints. One student said he submitted to a sexual act with Fulkerson in 1991, after a night of drinking encouraged by the professor. That student filed a written sexual-harassment complaint about Fulkerson to a university official. Three years later, Fulkerson was given tenure.
Other former students and colleagues of Fulkerson’s said the university’s theater department had a culture of permissiveness in regards to teacher-student relationships.
Norton said the university’s investigation will look at its policies governing such relationships and said she would engage the campus in “answering serious questions” about how students and faculty members should interact.
“We will improve our rules and processes, if need be,” she said. “And we will do it thoughtfully, together as a campus community. We are going to learn whatever lessons there are in this sad situation.”
Later in the news conference, though, Norton said there are “no obvious gaps” in university policies and said, instead, that focus must be put on adhering to standards.
“The question is the commitment to these, the communication of these and the culture at the university that supports these rules,” she said.
University officials have put no timeline on their investigation, which could take weeks or longer to conclude and is being done with help from the Mountain States Employers Council. Law-enforcement officials also are continuing their investigation of Fulkerson.
In the meantime, Fulkerson has been suspended with pay from the university and is barred from campus and contacting students.
Audio bonus: John Moore on KOA 850 AM
John Moore discusses his investigation into the allegations at the University of Northern Colorado with Dave Logan and Lois Melkonian on KOA 850 AM’s “Ride Home” program, Thursday, July 9. To listen,
