Dive Brief:

• The hearing for a sexual harassment case involving a former provost at Montana State University-Northern who is accused of inappropriately touching her male colleagues is set to begin on Monday.
• The university’s dean of extended learning, Randy Bachmeier, is accusing the former provost, Rosalyn Templeton, of repeatedly touching him in a sexual manner. He also accuses the university of retaliating against him for his complaints, not giving him fair consideration for the interim provost job when Templeton left.
• A Montana Department of Labor and Industry official has concluded “reasonable cause” exists to believe unlawful discrimination occurred.

Dive Insight:

Last summer, unsurprisingly, the university’s internal investigation determined that no sexual harassment occurred. Templeton submitted a letter of resignation in October 2013, effective January, and was asked not to come in to work for the rest of her stint by the university’s chancellor, James Limbaugh. While the university is arguing that Templeton’s touching was appropriate, Limbaugh says that Templeton once touched him on the back in a way that made him think briefly that it was his wife. Brahmeier claims that the chancellor sent an email to Templeton that “strongly encouraged” her to stop touching people at the school. In depositions, several other administrators said that Templeton made their workplace uncomfortable.