"I saw the email and will be back Wed. Evening," wrote William Strampel, former dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Nassar’s former supervisor. 

Then-Associate Provost Terry Curry responded, "I don’t think this can wait until Wednesday or Thursday. Are you able to meet remotely?"

Strampel’s lack of urgency to meet — revealed within thousands of long withheld Nassar-related documents released by the attorney general last week — was consistent with how many at MSU had come to view him over time: insensitive, unresponsive, and not taking issues of sexual violence seriously enough. 

Performance evaluations, student survey responses, and human resources memos spanning nearly two decades also shed new light on Strampel’s own history of "inappropriate" conduct. They raise questions about how the former dean kept his employment with MSU for as long as he did. 

In a statement, MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant offered as a potential answer that Strampel’s "dean reviews were conducted by three different people who didn’t have the information from the previous review."

But documents show the same, recurring names of high-ranking MSU officials consistently signed off on documents detailing Strampel’s conduct and cleared him of any wrongdoing that would warrant substantial disciplinary action. 

Also contained in the documents is a peculiar email Strampel sent to Nassar in 2000 about an Institutional Review Board "request for information" into Nassar. The email adds a new dimension to exactly what Nassar’s supervisor knew about him, and when. 

Strampel, who could not be reached for this story, was the only person at MSU other than Nassar to serve jail time in connection with the scandal, albeit for less than a year. He retired from MSU in 2018 and was charged in 2019 on two counts of willful neglect of duty. Strampel faced a third charge for felony misconduct in office, in relation to sexually-charged comments he made to female students who had approached him for career guidance. 

Colleagues’ perception

Frank, internal communications among MSU administrators show their awareness of Strampel’s pattern of inappropriate behavior, and their largely distrustful attitudes toward him. 

In a 2014 email, then-Associate General Counsel Theresa Kelley asked Strampel to inform MSU physician Jeffrey Kovan of a new protocol recommended by the controversial 2014 Title IX investigation that cleared Nassar of wrongdoing. 

A month later, a colleague asked Kelley if she had heard back from Strampel on the matter. 

Her response was terse and telling.

"Of course not," Kelley wrote. (Kelley could not be reached for comment).

It’s possible the information never made it to Kovan, who told the state’s licensing agency in 2018 he was not aware of the new protocols implemented after the 2014 Title IX investigation.

Documents also show administrators were well-aware of Strampel’s own pattern of inappropriate behavior, but apparently unwilling to take, or advocate for, disciplinary action against him. 

In a January 2005 email to a colleague, then-Associate General Counsel Kristine Zayko said she doesn’t see a "pressing need to move forward and talk to Strampel" regarding a recent complaint filed against him, "before (the then-acting provost) leaves."

Zayko continued that because "no one who actually works for Strampel" had filed a complaint, she didn’t see an "immediate need to consider the ‘hostile environment’ aspect of this," seemingly referencing a characterization made in the complaint. 

However, "with as much anecdotal evidence that we do have," Zayko said, "it’s fairly likely that if anyone ever were to complain, it might rise to that level once we did an investigation." 

The end of Zayko’s email gives an indication of the general nature of the complaint against Strampel that she didn’t believe warranted immediate action.

"On the plus side, most of the women I know that have been on the receiving end of Bill’s comments seem to like him personally and just think of him as clueless… that is good because it seems less likely to cause a complaint than if he were someone who was intentionally harassing women." (Zayko declined to comment).

Five years later, documents show that Strampel’s inappropriate behavior — and colleagues’ awareness of it — had not subsided. 

In a 2010 email laying out a proposed "plan for Strampel," then-Associate Provost Terry Curry appeared to express misgivings about Strampel’s long standing at MSU. 

That plan entailed designating a group of advisors tasked with providing Strampel "instant feedback" on his "communication at public settings." It also provided that a survey would be conducted on the "existence of inappropriate comments" in three years.

"This allows for the review by a group of new students who would not have been part of the issues to date," Curry wrote. 

He said he didn’t think the situation called for "sensitivity training," adding, "I think with the clear strategies laid out and a clear statement from you that there will be severe consequences if the behavior continues, he’ll change or be out (even if 'he is one of the best two deans we’ve ever had')."

Curry could not be reached for comment. 

A history of inappropriate conduct

Performance reviews and human resources memos provide specific insight into the variety and scope of Strampel’s inappropriate behavior, and how it was received by the students and faculty members under his leadership.

One 2004 memo sent to then-President Lou Anna Simon details comments Strampel made during a visit to the "student run telemarketing program," which prompted "more than 20 students" to "express concern" to their supervisors. 

At one point during the meeting, Strampel "turned to a female student and commented to the effect that 'you probably take birth control' and went on to discuss the practice for some reason," the memo said. 

In response to a raised hand from an "obviously female" audience member, Strampel "commented to the effect ‘Yes Sir, Ma’am, Sir, I can’t tell, what’s your question?'"

Also among Strampel’s bizarre quips were "I may be the only straight person you meet from Saugatuck," and "One of the reasons I went to Hope College was so I could be 50 miles away from the nearest sin."

Students were seemingly left puzzled and uncomfortable by the meeting, telling supervisors they were surprised that Strampel "could get away with speaking to college students like that," the memo said. 

One 2007 memo details Islamophobic comments made by Strampel while in his office, which were overheard and then reported by a physician's assistant in the MSU Health Clinic. 

The physician’s assistant reported that while waiting to be seen, "Strampel was loud in making statements critical of President Bush, the Iraq policy, and those who practice Islam." Specifically, she recalled Strampel saying, "They are all out to kill us… They are raised to believe that that is the key to getting to Heaven."

In an email to Zayko, associate provost Curry said he spoke to Strampel about the incident. In that conversation, Strampel told Curry he didn’t realize his comments could be overheard, and disagreed "about some of the things" the physician’s assistant claimed he said. 

Emails show Curry sent his notes from the meeting to Zayko, who replied "Thanks for the update."

"Sounds like it has been handled appropriately."

Strampel’s 2005 performance review also mentions conduct that extended beyond inappropriate speech.

One student interviewed for that review relayed an encounter another student had with Strampel that included "off-color, sexist remarks, accompanied by physical pushing against a student at a public event."

"This apparently occurred at an event where alcohol was involved and in the context of telling a particular story, and was observed by at least one other student," the review said.

The university representative conducting the interview asked if the student in question had reported the encounter with Strampel, according to the review. The interviewee replied that the student hadn’t, "but that she would be willing to come forward if there were other such situations reported."

The 2005 review also compiled input from faculty and students on Strampel’s "inappropriate comments."

One respondent said of Strampel, "Occasionally I blush at his lack of coarseness and discretion. ‘Bull in a china shop’ is the metaphor that springs to mind. It’s possible that he could seriously embarrass (the College of Osteopathic Medicine) at some point." 

Institutional Review Board inquiry

A February 2000 email Strampel sent to Nassar raises new questions about exactly what Strampel knew about Nassar, and when. 

In the email, Strampel referenced a phone call the two appeared to have had earlier that day in which Nassar said he had not yet received a "request for information from the (Institutional Review Board)." (Institutional Review Boards function as regulators of biomedical research, and can revoke or suspend research activities if they do not meet ethical standards). 

Strampel then told Nassar, "You are aware that the Vice President for Research has specific interest in the resolution of this issue" and that Nassar would not be permitted to conduct any "human use research on this campus until this matter is resolved," seemingly referencing the completion of the IRB's request for information. 

MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant did not provide details on the IRB’s 2000 request for information on Nassar.

"It’s my understanding that Nassar was doing, or wanted to do, a study involving human subjects in partnership with USA Gymnastics while gymnasts were on campus," she wrote in a statement. "But he did not get appropriate and prior approval from IRB to do it."

In the email's second half, Strampel shifted into another topic presumably covered in his phone call earlier that day with Nassar: a particular "activity" that Nassar had been doing in his work with the USA Gymnastics team, and Nassar's "incorrect" assumption that he would be covered by the university’s medical malpractice insurance policy for said activity. 

Strampel recommended to Nassar that he "should immediately stop any activity with (USAG) until you determine that (1) you are covered by the USAG for this activity or (2) you obtain your own policy for this activity or (3) you can make the case that this activity is of benefit to the University and receive written authorization that you are covered for this activity."

In 2017, as the university was conducting an internal investigation, documents show then-Assistant General Counsel Shannon Torres sent an attachment of Strampel’s 2000 email to Zayko, who replied "I had the IRB background but not the med mal USAG piece."

"That’s interesting," Zayko wrote. 

Administration Reporter Theo Scheer and Senior Reporter Alex Walters contributed reporting.