The Ohio State University Board of Trustees voted June 3 to approve $100 million to settle with hundreds of survivors of former university doctor Richard Strauss.
The resolution, which was added to the agenda before the meeting, is purported to be the final settlement in the fallout from the sexual abuse cases regarding Strauss. The details of the settlement were not provided, with board Chair John Zeiger saying during the meeting they could not be shared until the settlement was finalized.
The vote, which was part of a consent agenda with dozens of items, was unanimously approved.
“Ohio State and 279 of the 280 individual remaining Richard Strauss survivors involved in the pending litigation have reached settlements in principle in a total amount of $100 million. The university’s Board of Trustees has now publicly ratified these agreements in principle, and all parties thank the mediators for their assistance. The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate,” according to a joint statement from the university and plaintiffs shared on June 3.
Prior to this, Ohio State had reached settlements with more than half of outstanding plaintiffs, paying out more than $61 million to 317 survivors since March 2020. The board settled with over a dozen survivors in April.
The proposed individual settlements from June 3 are expected to result in a total of roughly $100 million, according to a ratification document from the board.
“The university has participated in a court-directed mediation process, including with mediator Judge Layn Phillips, to pursue a fair resolution of these claims,” the document states. “The proposed resolution reflects careful consideration of litigation risk, cost and the university’s continued commitment to achieving a fair and responsible outcome.”
In approving the resolution, the board authorizes the General Counsel and Ohio Attorney General to finalize and execute individual settlement agreements consistent with the terms of the mediator, according to the ratification document
The move follows a series of high-profile survivors speaking out for the first time about being abused by Strauss. Thirty former Ohio State football players, including ex-team captains and NFL veterans, came forward in early May to join legal efforts against the former university doctor.
Not long after, recently retired Columbus Fire Chief Jeffrey Happ shared that he and one of his teammates were abused while student-athletes at Bishop Ready High School, making them among the first to publicly say Strauss assaulted them in high school. Happ was 15 years old when Strauss first assaulted him, he said.
Inspired by the former fire chief, Tim Becker, Gahanna’s director of public safety and a former deputy chief of the Columbus Division of Police, came forward as a survivor too. At a May 26 press conference alongside other survivors, Becker said he wasn’t sure if he would join the lawsuits against Ohio State, but chose to come forward in hopes that more survivors will feel empowered to speak out.
Who is Richard Strauss?
Strauss was hired by Ohio State in September 1978 as an assistant professor in the College of Medicine. Investigators found that university officials began receiving complaints and had knowledge of Strauss’ misconduct as early as 1979, months after he arrived.
Strauss’ abuse went on for years and ranged from subtle acts under the pretext of medical purpose to more-overt actions, survivors said. He fondled patients’ genitals and conducted genital or rectal exams even when they weren’t medically necessary, survivors said.
An independent investigative report released by Ohio State University in May 2019 said Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students throughout his 20-year tenure as an athletics and student health doctor at the school.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005, more than a decade before Ohio State would begin publicly investigating his abuses.
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OSU board OKs final $100 million settlement with Strauss survivors
Reporting by Cole Behrens and Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cole Behrens and Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
