Feds open sex assault investigation into Vanderbilt

The federal government has opened an investigation into sexual violence at Vanderbilt University, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.

The agency does not make public the details of such investigations, and it is not known if the probe was initiated by U.S. officials or prompted by a complaint from a student, faculty member or other individual.

Vanderbilt officials "are aware of and will cooperate with the investigation," said Elizabeth Latt, assistant vice chancellor.

It is the second federal investigation of the Nashville campus. The first began in 2014. The latest investigation began Jan. 13.

Vanderbilt is one of five Tennessee campuses that collectively are the subject of eight investigations for possible violations of Title IX, the federal policy that dictates how universities must respond to incidents of sexual harassment, including sexual assault. Tennessee ranks high in the number of Title IX investigations; only eight states are the subject of more federal investigations into their public and private universities.

In total the federal government is investigating 306 cases of sexual violence at 225 colleges and universities across the country. The number of investigations has risen steeply and prompted criticism of the federal government's Title IX rules. A year ago there were 199 sexual violence cases under investigation at 161 colleges and universities.

In Tennessee, Rhodes College and Southwest Community College — both in the Memphis area — and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville are being investigated for their handling of sexual assaults.

The Vanderbilt investigation comes after increased public attention to sexual assaults on campuses across the country, including Tennessee. In 2016 two former Vanderbilt football players received lengthy prison sentences after separate trials found each guilty in the 2013 sexual assault of a female student. Two other former football players were indicted in the same case but have not yet gone to trial.

Also in 2016, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville settled a sexual assault lawsuit brought by eight women for $2.48 million. As part of the settlement the university admitted no wrongdoing, and UT system President Joe DiPietro agreed to appoint a panel of experts to examine the public university system's response to sexual misconduct.

Reach Anita Wadhwani at awadhwani@tennessean.com or 615-259-8092 and on Twitter @AnitaWadhwani.