U of M president accepts responsibility

Published 9:56 am Wednesday, August 26, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS — University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler said he takes “full responsibility” for hiring Norwood Teague as the Gophers’ athletic director.

According to a press release, Kaler said he hired Teague and that he takes “full responsibility for doing that. That’s my job.”

Teague resigned Aug. 7 and acknowledged sexually harassing two administrators at a university leadership event last month. University officials say additional complaints about Teague have been made since then.

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Kaler recently criticized Parker Executive Search for missing a gender discrimination complaint against Teague at his previous employer, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Parker attorney Richard Robbins said the discrimination complaint in Virginia was filed after the University of Minnesota announced Teague’s selection. Robbins said there’s no indication that the complaint would have disqualified Teague had the University of Minnesota known about it earlier.