William Strampel, the former dean of Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, was convicted in June 2019 of felony misconduct in office and two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty for failing to supervise convicted sex abuser Larry Nassar and for sexually harassing female medical students. He was sentenced to one year in jail, served about eight months, permanently surrendered his medical license, and exhausted his appeals when the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear his case in August 2021.1
His Role at MSU
Strampel led MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2002 until 2018, roughly sixteen years. The job gave him broad authority over the college’s academic programs and its clinical faculty, including Larry Nassar, the sports medicine doctor later convicted of sexually assaulting hundreds of patients. As dean, Strampel controlled students’ academic standing, shaped their career prospects, and was responsible for faculty conduct.
The Nassar Supervision Failure
In 2014, a patient filed a Title IX complaint accusing Nassar of sexual misconduct during medical examinations. MSU investigated and cleared him, but set new protocols: Nassar was supposed to wear surgical gloves, obtain informed consent before procedures, and have another employee present during sensitive exams.
Enforcing those protocols was Strampel’s job. According to the arrest affidavit filed by the Michigan State Police, he never did. He did not tell staff at the Sports Medicine Clinic the protocols existed, did not order anyone to follow them, and did not monitor Nassar’s compliance. He also allowed Nassar to keep seeing patients while the 2014 investigation was still open. Nassar continued assaulting patients for roughly two more years, until he was fired in 2016.
Harassment of Female Medical Students
The second half of the criminal case involved Strampel’s own conduct. Prosecutors, backed by an affidavit from a Michigan State Police detective, described a pattern of sexual harassment and exploitation aimed at female students who came to him for academic help.
Students testified that in private meetings about failed exams, residency problems, and disciplinary issues, Strampel made sexually charged demands and comments. One student said he told her to “turn around twice” so he could look at her body and to “dress sexier” if she wanted to succeed in medicine, and asked her, “What do I have to do to teach you to be submissive and subordinate to men?” Another said that when she asked to retake an exam, he suggested she would need to “do anything for him,” mentioning weekends and helping him “weed the garden,” which she took as a demand for sexual favors. Students reported hearing “I own you,” “How many of your classmates are virgins?” and a warning that if anyone learned he’d granted an academic exception, he would claim they were having sex and “ruin your reputation.”
Dr. Jessica Neuroth, a former student and a key trial witness, testified that at a 2014 scholarship dinner Strampel grabbed her left buttock and “held it very tightly” while they posed for a photograph with a donor. She said she froze and did not report it because Strampel had told her he “held my entire future in his hands.”
A forensic examination of Strampel’s university work computer turned up roughly 50 images of female genitalia, nude and semi-nude women, sex toys, and pornography. Many of the photographs appeared to be selfies taken by female MSU students, identifiable by MSU clothing and piercings. The criminal complaint stated that Strampel had solicited nude photos from at least one female student.
Warnings MSU Ignored for Years
Strampel’s behavior had been flagged to MSU leadership for more than a decade before criminal charges were filed. In October 2004, more than 20 students reported concerns about sexually suggestive comments he made at a student-run telemarketing event; the reports were emailed to Lou Anna K. Simon days before she became university president. A 2005 performance review by Associate Provost Barbara C. Steidle noted his reputation for “off-color, sexist remarks” and said he had physically pushed a student. MSU legal counsel Kristine Zayko warned Strampel he could not make sexual jokes or comments, but later wrote that with no “formal complaint” on file there was no “immediate need” to address the “hostile environment.”
In 2010, Strampel was placed on a plan requiring feedback from six colleagues aimed at eliminating inappropriate comments. A 2015 five-year personnel review included an anonymous survey with roughly 30 responses documenting continuing complaints about sexualized comments and conduct with students. Provost June Youatt acknowledged the survey contained “several accounts of inappropriate remarks” but reappointed him to another term as dean after a conversation, citing the lack of official complaints. The university took no decisive action against Strampel until the Nassar scandal became public in 2017 and the Michigan Attorney General opened an investigation.
Charges, Trial, and Verdict
In March 2018, the office of then-Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette unsealed criminal charges against Strampel, making him the first person charged in the AG’s investigation of MSU’s handling of the Nassar scandal. He was arraigned on one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct (later amended to second-degree), one count of felony misconduct in office, and two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty.
The trial took place in Ingham County Circuit Court. On June 12, 2019, the jury convicted Strampel of misconduct in office and both neglect of duty counts, and acquitted him of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, the most serious charge he faced. The misconduct conviction rested on his use of the dean’s office to make sexually charged comments to students and to solicit sexual favors. The neglect of duty convictions rested on his failure to enforce the Nassar protocols and his decision to let Nassar continue seeing patients during an active investigation.
Sentence and Early Release
On August 7, 2019, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk sentenced Strampel to 11 months in jail on the misconduct conviction and one year on each neglect count, all running concurrently. He served the time at the Ingham County Jail. On March 19, 2020, he was released roughly two weeks ahead of his scheduled April 3 release date as part of the jail’s effort to reduce its population during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. He served approximately eight months in total.
Appeals
Strampel’s attorney, John Dakmak, challenged the misconduct conviction on the ground that Strampel was not a “public official” under the Michigan statute, arguing the dean’s position was not created by the state legislature and that he did not report directly to the MSU Board of Trustees. On January 14, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously rejected that argument, holding that because the legislature created MSU and its medical school, and because Strampel was accountable to the Board of Trustees, he qualified as a public officer. On August 4, 2021, the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear his further appeal, leaving the conviction in place.
Loss of Medical License
The Disciplinary Subcommittee of Michigan’s Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery summarily suspended Strampel’s medical license in August 2019. On December 5, 2019, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Strampel had permanently surrendered his license under a consent order and had to pay a $35,000 fine to the state. The subcommittee found three violations of the state’s public health code: negligence in supervising employees, conviction of a felony, and “lack of good moral character.” Strampel pleaded no contest, neither challenging nor formally admitting the allegations. Nessel said the action ensured Strampel “will never again use his medical license or his authority to harass, discriminate, demean, sexually proposition and/or sexually assault female students.”
Departure from MSU
After the March 2018 charges, MSU moved to revoke Strampel’s tenure. He initially stayed on the payroll at an annual salary of $217,000. In July 2018, interim president John Engler gave him a choice: retire voluntarily or face the tenure revocation process and lose all benefits. Strampel retired. Under the terms of his departure he received a $170,000 payment, described by Engler as only a portion of what Strampel would have sought in a formal revocation proceeding, and kept health benefits. He was denied emeritus status and other honorary distinctions.