Central Michigan University has hired Matthew Schneider, a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, to investigate university employees’ knowledge of sexual harassment allegations against the CEO of a Lansing consulting firm that employed CMU interns and recent graduates.
Several women have described inappropriate behavior by T.J. Bucholz, a CMU alumnus who runs Vanguard Public Affairs in Lansing. The allegations include asking employees about the possibility of a threesome with his wife and commenting on their attractiveness at work.
In an email to university students and staff last week, CMU President Bob Davies said that two university employees were on leave while the university investigated. Davies said one of those employees might have contributed to the harassment by sending students to the firm, and the other might have known about the harassment but not reported it.
“It is critical that we bring in outside counsel to provide an independent and thorough review of what took place,” CMU Board Chair Richard Studley said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We want to understand what policies, practices and procedures may need to be examined to ensure we have structures to protect our students when they are placed in workplaces meant to provide them with invaluable and practical experiences to successfully pursue their careers,” he said.
Schneider was a federal attorney until February, where he oversaw an investigation into corruption among automotive executives and UAW union officials. He now works at the Detroit offices of the Honigman law firm.
Schneider “is exactly the right person to lead this independent investigation” into a connection between CMU and Vanguard, said Davies.
