Firing of Mark Schlissel was “major development” that helped pave way for $490 million settlement with Anderson survivors, MLive reporter says

Mark Schlissel is no longer the president of the University of Michigan. After seven years, the University of Michigan Board of Regents fired Schlissel this past weekend after an investigation showed that he had an inappropriate relationship with a university employee. This comes just one year before Schlissel was set to retire from the university with a generous exit package. Just days after Schlissel’s firing, the university and the survivors of Dr. Robert Anderson, a physician who reportedly sexually assaulted at least dozens of University of Michigan athletes, reached a $490 million settlement on Wednesday.

From the top down, there was this hypocrisy from the University of Michigan that we’re going to handle things internally and we’re going to have people at the top of the totem pole be a part of this sexual misconduct culture. [Schlissel’s firing] really wedged this thing loose.” — Samuel Dodge, higher education reporter for MLive and the Ann Arbor News

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Samuel Dodge is the higher education reporter for MLive and the Ann Arbor News. Dodge says the decision from the board of regents to fire Schlissel was swift. “I’m relatively surprised that it developed this quickly,” says Dodge.

Dodge says Schlissel’s firing was “a major development” leading to the settlement.

“From the top down, there was this hypocrisy from the University of Michigan that we’re going to handle things internally and we’re going to have people at the top of the totem pole be a part of this sexual misconduct culture,” Dodge says. “[Schlissel’s firing] really wedged this thing loose.”

There have been several sexual misconduct cases at the university in recent years. “It’s really a systemic issue, and it’s not just one person like Mark Schlissel.”

There are a lot of misconceptions about sexual abuse, says Dodge. He noted that the people who were allegedly sexually assaulted by Dr. Anderson were much physically stronger than him, but had less power. “When you look at Dr. Anderson, you know, not a physically-imposing person, you start realizing that it really is a power dynamic in a lot of these [sexual abuse] cases,” says Dodge.