UT Chancellor addresses sexual abuse allegations on campus

KNOXVILLE (WDEF) – The Chancellor of the University of Tennessee is addressing issues raised by the Title IX lawsuit against UT.

Jimmy Cheek has sent out an email to the university community attempting to reassure them that leaders are taking sexual assault cases seriously.

He says claims in the lawsuit that there is a culture on campus that allows sexual assaults are just false.

In the email, he says “We are a community, even if we’re not a perfect one, and we hurt when any of our family members hurt or cause pain.”

Cheek says the university has implemented 37 of 39 recommendations so far from an independent review of student conduct evaluation.

They have hired a special investigator just to handle sexual assaults, along with a sexual misconduct investigator and a sexual health coordinator and case manager.

“I thought it important to share this perspective with you and to reassure you that we are on the case and the continued safety of all of our students is of the utmost importance to us.”