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University of Minnesota regents defended their handling of allegations of sexual misconduct involving a top athletics department fundraiser.

"We need to set the record straight," said regents Chair Dean Johnson and Vice Chair David McMillan 

 to the governor and legislators defending that leak investigation. The letter was dated May 18.

The regents have been criticized for appearing to care more about 

 than the sexual harassment probe they are overseeing.

The allegations against the U athletics official were first made public by a KSTP-TV report last week. In 2015 

former athletic director Norwood Teague resigned

 after he was accused of sexually harassing employees. 

U officials have said little about the most recent incident or the staff member involved in the investigation revealed by KSTP. But regents launched an investigation into how details of the incident got leaked to the media — and even prepared affidavits for regents and staff to sign attesting that they had not leaked a memo detailing the investigation or the U's response.

"Recent conversations in St. Paul leave us concerned that actions taken by the Board of Regents last week have led some to question our resolve to properly respond to complaints of sexual misconduct and prevent misconduct from occurring in the first place," the letter said.

But Johnson and McMillan said the U's reaction to the leak is not the only response to the incident, and that confidentiality and privacy laws prevent regents from offering a more public discussion of the underlying incident.

"We are absolutely committed to preventing and responding strongly to all forms of sexual harassment," the letter said. "We care deeply about the students, faculty and staff who are significantly affected by this type of destructive behavior."

The regents also, however, defended the leak investigation, saying that privacy may be essential for people to report concerns about harassment. 

"Individuals that come forward should not have to worry that the details of an incident will be flashed across the 10 o'clock news," the letter said. "These situations can be painful and frustrating enough without an additional concern of public disclosure."

The letter also says the university is about to finish what officials describe as a "system-wide effort to create a new comprehensive policy on sexual misconduct."

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In a letter sent to the governor and legislators Thursday regents say they "take sexual harassment very, very seriously" and want to "set the record straight" about their handling of leaked information in a sexual harassment investigation.

The University of Minnesota says it's close to finishing a new, system-wide sexual assault policy. It's part of an effort that began more than a year ago and in that time, the university has been roiled by more than one high-profile case of sexual misconduct. The latest involves a top fundraiser in the athletics department who's accused of sexually harassing  another employee according to documents leaked to KSTP. That led the Board of Regents to launch a probe into the leak which had some people questioning the University's priorities - leaks or sexual harassment.  Yesterday the Chair of the Board of Regents Dean Johnson co-authored an open letter to the Minnesota legislature reaffirming the University's commitment to addressing sexual assault.  MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with him.

U of M regents defend sex harassment leak probe

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