The Univ. of Minnesota yesterday said that former AD Norwood Teague "failed to disclose that he was facing a gender discrimination complaint at the time he was being recruited and then after he was hired," according to a front-page piece by Brandon Stahl of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The school paid Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search $112,539 in '12 to find an AD and "do background checks on leading candidates." Working with Parker on behalf of UM "was a four-person search committee and a 23-member search advisory committee." That search "failed to discover" that former VCU women’s basketball coach Beth Cunningham "filed a complaint against Teague" when he was AD there. VCU paid Cunningham $125,000 in July '12 to "settle the complaint." UM in a statement said that Parker "assured the school 'that it had no knowledge of any illegal or inappropriate behavior concerning a candidate’s history or current employment.'” Parker President Laurie Wilder said that she "would not comment on the company's background check of Teague, but said candidates are asked to disclose 'any personal areas of controversy or concern.'" UM said that it "didn't learn of the VCU complaint" until December '12. Colleges in the Univ. of Minnesota System "have paid Parker Executive Search at least $285,521" since '07 to "investigate candidates for prime positions in athletic departments" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/18). Meanwhile, in St. Paul, John Shipley reports the U.S. Department of Education is "currently investigating" UM's "compliance with Title IX." The impetus for the investigation "was a complaint contending" the school's $190M Athletes Village project "is at odds with the law" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/18).
