Dean Fabian to return to Richmond College after fall break

Dan Fabian, deputy Title IX coordinator and associate dean, will not return to his positions until after fall break, Dean Joe Boehman said at the weekly Richmond College Student Government Association (RSCGA) meeting.

Fabian has been out of the office on medical leave since at least Sept. 1, but Boehman said the two met in Fabian's office Tuesday morning. Boehman would not reveal what the meeting was about.

Fabian has been a controversial figure since a Westhampton College student accused him of telling her it was "reasonable" for her accused rapist to continue penetrating her if he was going to "finish." Since then, The Collegian reported that Fabian is married to another deputy Title IX coordinator, Kerry Fankhauser, stirring concern over potential conflicts of interest within the university community.

The general “feeling” in Richmond College, and the campus as a whole, is that trust in Fabian has been lost, RCSGA Sen. Evan McKay said.

McKay and fellow RCSGA member Max Thornton have been working with Spiders Against Sexual Assault (SASA), a recently developed student group. SASA is currently working on a list of proposals to the administration that will address gendered spaces on campus and the Title IX process.

McKay and Thornton, along with RCSGA President Ken Anderson, emphasized that SASA is doing independent work that does not involve RCSGA; the proposal document is not a list for the RCSGA to review, and Anderson does not yet know if they will endorse this list.

The list will take the form of an online petition that students, alumni, faculty and staff will be able to sign. Proposals range from creating a center on campus for sexual assault that will also house the Title IX office, to separating the Title IX office from the coordinate college system.

An RCSGA member asked Boehman if the list should be released without the community first hearing from Fabian. There is nothing Fabian can say because of FERPA privacy law, Boehman said.

SASA should "put forward what they feel they need to put forward," Boehman said.

Contact reporter Jocelyn Grzeszczak at jocelyn.grzeszczak@richmond.edu

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