$10,000 Offered To Members of UO Sexual Assault Prevention Review Panel

The University of Oregon will pay each member of its sexual assault prevention review panel a $10,000 honorarium, according to an announcement posted on the President's website yesterday

The payment will cover "the substantial time and expertise dedicated to this review effort," in addition to paying for travel costs, the site says. 

The university appointed the the panel's eight members last spring to review the school's policies regarding how to respond to allegations of sexual assault.

The panel was announced in May, shortly after the public became aware that three UO men's basketball players were accused of rape. Former Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Mary Deits, the chair of the group, says that the panel's formation has nothing to do with the allegations.

UO economics professor and watchdog blogger Bill Harbaugh criticized the honorarium on his site UO Matters, saying the payment is too large "for 5 or so day-and-a-half meetings."

UO spokeswoman Julie Brown says that the panel members will spend eight days in meetings, in addition to time on research. The pay acknowledges work reviewing documents, conducting interviews and writing the UO's requested report on sexual assault prevention.

"It's similar to what academic units pay throughout higher education," Brown says. 

The panel's members include former Oregon Court of Appeals judges Deits and David Schuman, Ohio State University Vice President for Student Life Javaune Adams-Gaston and retired Pac-12 Conference Deputy Commissioner Kevin Weiberg. Its first meetings were July 30 and 31, and a public forum is scheduled for August 27 to collect public input for its next meeting. 

The panel will hear suggestions from the UO Senate's Task Force to Address Sexual Violence, which will present its findings to the UO Senate in October. 

UPDATE, 8/27: On his blog, Harbaugh accused panelist Ted Spencer from the University of Michigan of lying to UM about receiving documents for the UO panel. Harbaugh says on his blog that he requested documents about Spencer's service on the panel from UM, but he was told there were no responsive records after Spencer talked with the public records officer about the request. 

Neither Spencer or UM could be immediately reached for comment. 

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