The University of Rhode Island is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct at a dinner party at President David Dooley’s house last month.
“Shortly following this dinner, the University became aware of a complaint filed with its Title IX office,” said URI Spokeswoman Linda Acciardo. “The University has been actively investigating the complaint and has determined that it is a personnel matter that does not involve the president or his guests.”
The dinner was held to celebrate the legislation passed in the state’s General Assembly last session which created a Board of Trustees at the University. Guests who had attended included members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
Three of the representatives in attendance were Carol Hagan McEntee (D-District 33), Robert Craven (D-District 32) and House Majority Leader K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-District 23).
Craven said that he was contacted by someone at the University asking “general questions” about the incident.
“Whatever they were asking me about, I didn’t see and I didn’t hear,” Craven said.
Craven didn’t know the identity of the alleged victim or perpetrator, but said that the questioning seemed to revolve around a bar that had been set up in the president’s living room.
Craven, who said that he does not drink, was asked if he saw who was behind the bar. He said that while he was in the same room as the bar, he had had no reason to go over to it or to look at it.
Neither Shekarchi or McEntee returned requests for comments before the print deadline.
However, in statements given to The Providence Journal, both Shekarchi and McEntee denied seeing or hearing anything of that nature at the dinner. Shekarchi, in comments to the Journal, said that he had gathered the incident to have been involving an inappropriate comment rather than physical contact.
Acciardo’s statement said that the University could not provide any additional comment at the time, as it is both a personnel matter and an ongoing investigation.
Gerard Holder, the deputy Title IX coordinator and assistant director for the Office of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, and Diversity, declined to comment since the investigation is still ongoing.
The investigation was first reported by news website GoLocalProv and additional coverage has been done by The Providence Journal.