I’m glad to see them wrap it up. It’s a big number but should make everyone who wanted money from MSU happy. MSU just enrolled it’s largest freshman class ever (well over 8000 incoming) from it’s largest application cycle ever according to a press release so while the state is not wanting MSU to pay the settlements out of tuition dollars there are the unrestricted funds current slotted for infrastructure and programs balanced by the insurance payout or $39 million reported. Hopefully with some administrative belt-tightening the university can take the financial hit and it will be over-time I’m sure as I’m sure the process to submit claims, verify claims and payout claims will drag on
Will they increase tuition costs to cover this, or will they cut back on student aid?
USC must be shaking in their boots.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-usc-doctor-misconduct-complaints-20180515-story.html
Good.
They sent a letter to incoming/prospective students about possible increases in tuition. I read the letter and it was TERRIBLE. They’ve really messed up in almost every way possible.
Don’t they have liability insurance?
How about cutting the sports budget…
Regarding USC, why in HELL was their only F/T gynecologist a MAN???
According to the press there was s 39 million in liability insurance. So between that, unrestricted funds and the hold back dollar portion of the settlement I am sure MSU will survive the dollar hit big as it is. It did not negatively impact applications or yield and this is the one year that would have happened. It is a huge, huge, huge university. I heard at one time dining services is the largest in the world in terms of sheer volume of people served and fed at one location.
I’m glad Michigan State is doing something…but there is no amount of money that can make what this awful man did go away. No amount.
This man was a doctor. Does HE not bear any of the cost for this? He should.
Realistically, all that would do is hurt current and future student athletes.
You’re right, @PetraMC – USC had better beware, because here come the lawsuits! USC has very deep pockets, yes?
So let’s assume the lawyers get 25% of the $500M (and they might get more?). That’s still over $1M for each claimant in the Michigan State case!
You have to wonder if every claimant was a patient of Nasser representing MSU or if some were patients where Nasser was technically representing or even compensated by USA Gymnastics or compensated outside the MSU system for gyms but there are plenty of lawyers and years to sort out who really gets a check and how much. The other entities that used Nasser’s services have not reached settlements so that is still hanging out there. I can’t recall how much MSU set aside for emotional and physicsl support for the athletes but I would guess those $$ will also go back into the settlement pot for distribution. The whole thing has got to scare the heck out of any hospital or medical school in this country for sure most of which could not withstand that type of settlement financially.
After lawyers fees and the 75 million that is being held back for any unforeseen litigation that still leaves quite a bit for claimants. I haven’t done the math but it feels like less per claimant than PSU but again I haven’t done the math. If so then MSU’s lawyers earned their $$.
No faculty pay raises for 20 years to come I bet. And what will the donors think? How will future donations be affected?
They can’t used directed funds. Most donors specify a use so that is not an issue. After the insurance payout then they will need to use unrestricted funds but the university’s annual gross revenue is a billion and their endowment is 3 billion so in some of those unrestricted corners I am sure they can find the settlement money.
One of there biggest donors already told parents to send their kids elsewhere if they have an issue…and this before their biggest application year ever. They might lose a few $100 a year mass donors but I doubt they will lose their major donors. PSU had a small application blip during their year of crisis and bounced back the next year. People “get” that one man or woman does not define an entire institution. The one metric that did decrease for MSU for the coming school year was internationals and I wonder if that is widespread because of current federal policies.
While the settlement is obviously a huge win and sends precisely the right message, MSU may be getting something in return. My understanding of the settlement is that the victims are expected to withdraw their support for some of the legislative reforms that they and lawmakers put forward earlier this year. One of those reforms was to lengthen the statute of limitations for these types of claims and make it retroactive to the mid 1990’s. That would obviously expose MSU to more claims related and unrelated to this matter.
A few months back MSU’s interim President personally appeared before a legislative subcommittee and opposed the whole package of bills which the Nassar victims supported. He stated then that most of the money to settle these claims would come form students and Michigan taxpayers – if the bills passed the amount of money needed would grow. So this has been on MSU’s radar screen for quite some time. I am supposing once the victim’s support is withdrawn the pressure and negative publicity is gone which gives the legislature free rein to do whatever they want.
Rachael Denhollander who was the first victim to come forward is not happy at all with this aspect of the settlement and I do not believe she supported it.
The bills are still live but being tweaked after opposition from different constituencies involved in child welfare and foster care and a bunch of organizations including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce all who have questioned some of the provisions in the bill according to the media…but the bills are not dead yet they are just not being railroaded through which is good I think on the long view. Sometimes things seem good on surface but can’t be done in practice. Schools and organizations don’t even keep records going back as far as the victims wanted in making the package of bills retroactive in the legislation which would create problems in litigation.
The bill introduced to disallow college and university tuition revenue to settle civil litigation is a nonissue for MSU since the uni has the financial resources for the final resolution $$ agreement but the concerns were over potentially bankrupting smaller institutions which is a legitimate concern. Nice in theory but bad legislation so that one of the ten bills is also still up in the air.
The Detroit paper is reporting the women will be compensated between $250,000 and 2 million depending on their age when abused by Nasser and number of times the abuse occurred and I image where and when the abuse occurred although that was only alluded to by pointing out that only 25 victims were students at the uni at the time of their abuse. That is the only reporting today about actual compensation that I heard or saw.
MSU will fund/pay the settlement, in the same way it finances new construction. Think of this being a new $500 million building, that no one will ever be able to see or use. The majority of the funding will come from bonds (borrowing). Some funds will come from donations (perhaps unrestricted parts of the endowment), but likely none of it will come from the state legislature.
Also, the drop in it’s credit rating will cost it even more in higher interest payments. The cost of any new construction on campus has now increased.
The sports department is self funded (via TV contracts, etc.), only a small % of it’s budget comes from the university (via student fees). It may be possible to cut back on some athletic cost, and then have them transfer $ to the university (some of that Big10 revenue sharing…), but we’re talking about at most $1 or $2 million.
Money supposedly heals all wounds. It is a pity it can’t be used to the betterment of existing and future students and profs that aren’t connected to the medical school etc. I felt the same way about Penn State. Not to mention it wasn’t a class action suit so each victim has to have their victimhood quantified in dollars by an arbitrator…so ick in my opinion but that is our current civil legal system…sigh.
Exactly. Sure, they could readily find a few million in administrative bloat, but any real savings would come from cutting scholarships and non-revenue sports – both men’s and women’s – which would only reduce opportunities for future students.
What about all the people who knew and did nothing. Is there any penalty for them?
The perp should have to pay it himself. Make him work free for 30 years (supervised and for someone he can’t abuse) and give everything to his victims. Make the penalty fit the crime.
But no, instead we will house him at taxpayer expense and rob a university and its profs and future students instead.