LAWRENCE — A federal agency has found that administrators at Haskell Indian Nations University underreported crime statistics for a two-year period.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Interior also concluded in a report Friday that the Lawrence school had failed to follow internal policy when handling misconduct complaints.
The agency’s report says university employees told investigators they felt “bullied and intimidated” by Haskell President Venida Chenault. The document concluded the president influenced, through her presence at a meeting, a family member’s appointment to a high-level campus job.
Chenault told federal investigators Haskell’s annual crime reports for 2014 and 2015 were inaccurate but she denied intentionally misrepresenting the statistics.
The university enrolls about 1,000 students representing about 140 tribal nations and Alaska native communities.
