A report this week stating that a University of Wisconsin athletics official had resigned after allegedly trying to grope a student employee during a Rose Bowl party in his hotel room exposed a lingering problem for the school and its athletic department: the lack of a clear policy regarding alcohol use at off-campus functions.
An independent panel issued a report Tuesday following an investigation into allegations that John Chadima, who served as senior associate athletic director until his resignation Jan. 6, had hosted a late-December party in his Los Angeles hotel suite and served alcohol purchased with gift money to student employees, some of whom were under the legal drinking age. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, a university website for alcohol policy states that events held on campus need a school-issued alcohol permit. University events held off campus do not need a university permit if held at a hotel, restaurant or other venue with a state-issued liquor license. A university spokesperson told the State Journal that some off-campus university events with alcohol are regulated through tickets, wristbands or hired bartenders.
UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a letter to interim chancellor David Ward dated Tuesday that he was unaware of the party in question and that Chadima was supposed to join Alvarez for dinner that evening. Alvarez did concede knowledge of such parties in the past.
Alvarez had told the four-person investigative panel that there were no specific athletic department guidelines about the use of alcohol, but he "did not recommend" that professional staff drink with students or student employees, according to the report. "That is unacceptable, and our staff will be educated about the inappropriateness of such behavior," Alvarez said.
The panel has recommended that the university review its alcohol policy at off-campus university events and consider whether rules or guidelines should be developed, as well as simplify sexual assault reporting instructions.
