Crandall Open Letter

June 1, 2023

In light of the ongoing investigation, we now strongly encourage all Crandall students, both past and present, to come forward and share any information that may be pertinent to the investigation. We understand the significance of your voices and their potential impact on shedding light on the truth.

To facilitate this process, Crandall has hired Mr. Joël Michaud, a seasoned law professional and investigator with a strong track record. We are confident that Joël will diligently and confidentially gather any information provided by students and alumni to ensure a comprehensive and unbiased investigation.

Your participation is crucial in ensuring that the integrity of our institution is upheld. We understand the potential fear and apprehension associated with sharing sensitive information, but we assure you that your privacy and confidentiality will be strictly maintained throughout this process.

If you have any information, regardless of how insignificant it may seem, we urge you to contact Joël by email at jmichaud@pinklarkin.com or by phone at 506-447-1461. By standing together and speaking out, we can bring about positive change and ensure a safer environment for future generations of Crandall students. Thank you for your courage, support, and commitment to upholding the values of truth and justice.

April 25, 2023

While we are pleased that the Crandall Board of Governors has hired an investigator, we remain cautious. Although GRACE operates in Canada, Crandall has rejected our recommendation of them and instead chosen a labour law firm to investigate claims of harassment from the past few years. We await further information on the process and scope to evaluate if this will be an effective investigation. In the meantime, we continue to accept signatures to the open letter.

April 8, 2023

Dear members of the Crandall University Board of Governors:

On March 28th, 2023, an Instagram account began sharing anonymous posts outlining what appear to be firsthand student accounts of sexual harassment occurring on the Crandall University campus. These accounts outline, in significant detail, inappropriate, sexually-driven conduct displayed on multiple occasions by at least one faculty member of Crandall University. We, as Crandall alumni and students, are appalled by these reports. The Crandall University mission statement outlines the desire to “transform lives through quality university education firmly rooted in the Christian faith,” however, we believe that transformation in faith cannot occur in conjunction with sexual harassment in the learning environment.

From current students, we understand that related complaints were made to Crandall administrators this past fall, however to the best of our knowledge the administration took no concrete action and students were told their complaints had no merit. Further we understand that students feel unsafe reporting using the current sexual harassment policy.

Among its many flaws, this policy does not allow for anonymous tips, encourages a 48-hour deadline to file a harassment complaint, and imposes a hard 1-year limit on filing a complaint. Most egregiously, this policy requires victims to confront their alleged harassers in person and engage in a mediation process, a practice which is completely out of step with current trauma-informed best practice. Importantly this policy does not seem to recognize the substantial power difference between Crandall staff and students and therefore does not put any safeguards in place to make students feel protected while reporting. Another barrier to reporting is the fact that to initiate a harassment report victims are required to contact staff at another university (who then serve as “Harassment Advisors” in the process). Student victims have no context to evaluate their safety with these staff from another university and may have reasonable questions about the true independence of these Harassment Advisors relative to Crandall. In fact, the Harassment Advisors have no control over the process, simply collecting evidence about the incident, which they then refer back to Crandall President’s Council and that group makes the ultimate decision on the validity of the complaint. Given that this group of administrators has a vested interest in protecting the reputation of Crandall, this is hardly a confidence inspiring process for victims considering reporting. This final step in the process renders this policy not in fact an independent investigation by a neutral third party. Finally, other than including the harassment policy as an appendix in the student handbook, there appears to be no regular harassment education for students, and many Crandall students remain completely unaware of how to report incidents.

Without transparency and accountability surrounding the sexual harassment claims raised by the Instagram posts, the credibility of Crandall University suffers. Profound change is needed, starting with a clear and public acknowledgement of these allegations. We, as alumni and students of Crandall University, request action, not only because of the importance of justice but also because of our love for Crandall and our desire to avoid its reputation being harmed by inaction in the face of scandal.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, hereby call for the Crandall Board to publicly commit to taking the following actions:

Engage the organization GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment; www.netgrace.org) to conduct an independent investigation of these allegations.

Engaging an independent organization to conduct an investigation is considered current best practice in addressing allegations of sexual harassment or abuse. An independent organization conducting this investigation (not a Crandall-hired law firm or Crandall-associated lawyer) is particularly important for there to be public trust in the investigation’s final report. Hiring GRACE will help facilitate transparency in the investigative process, which we expect would explore all allegations of impropriety, including those beyond the scope of the Instagram stories. It is critical that the investigation invite all community members to contribute any evidence they might have and that the process be confidential so that victims/witnesses need not fear institutional retaliation.
In consultation with GRACE, revise Crandall’s current sexual harassment policy and update it to ensure the policy reflects current best practice.

As outlined above, the current Crandall University Harassment Policy and Procedures do not reflect the most appropriate, trauma-informed practices for handling reports of harassment. Additionally, Section 21 of the current Crandall University Harassment Policy outlines that this policy will be reviewed on an annual basis; however, the current policy was last reviewed in the year 2020. It is imperative that this be addressed immediately to ensure the safety and security of all Crandall-associated personnel, including students, staff and faculty.
End the Carver Model of governance at Crandall University.

This model of governance promotes a rigid focus on the President as the Board’s only reporting employee. This results in a lack of transparency with respect to critical decisions occurring at Crandall by cutting off the free flow of information between the Crandall community and the Board and by providing significant power to the President and President’s Council to shape what the Board hears about Crandall. Although the allegations being made on Instagram are horrible, many current and recent students are not shocked because rumors of this nature have been widely known by the student community for some time. If the Board was less well informed on these issues than the student body, they may wish to ask themselves why that is the case. The disconnect that is enforced by the Carver Model of governance at Crandall must be addressed to promote true procedural transparency and to give the Board an increased opportunity to confer with staff and students within the Crandall community.

We, the undersigned, urge the Crandall University Board to take full responsibility in this matter, to acknowledge the gravity of these allegations and promptly take concrete, transparent measures to address these urgent matters.

Signed,

Bella Able, Class of ‘25
Tara Albert, Class of ‘06
Craig Allin, Class of ‘07
Keith Alward, Class of ‘16
Elise Armes, Class of ‘26
Amanda Audit, Class of ‘23
Allison Baker, Class of ‘19 & ‘24
Jonathan Baker, Class of ‘20
Jeff Bandy, Class of ‘16
Meg Barnett, Class of ‘14
Joanna Dempster Bashir, Class of ‘14
Ben Bedecki, Class of ‘13
Kenda Berry, Class of ‘93 & ‘14
Sara Jean Berry, Class of ‘10
Corbin Birch, Class of ‘13
Hannah Bishop, Class of ‘18
Kaitlin Blacquiere, Class of ‘21
Michaela Bourque, Class of ‘21
Ellie Manuel-Bubar, Class of ‘26
Tyler Burts, Class of ‘13, ‘15 & ‘22
Jenn Carson, Class of ‘04
Kathleen Chrisholm, Class of ‘24
Jessica Connelly, Class of ‘21
Hannah Cook, Class of ‘23
Megan Cook, Class of ‘23
Sam Cook, Class of ‘24
Dr. Daniel Cooper, Class of ‘10
Matthew Cox, Class of ‘11
Alexia D’astous, Class of ‘24
Bhreagh Davies, Class of ‘21
Keon Day, Class of ‘18
Justine Dempster, Class of ‘11
Nathan Dempster, Class of ‘08
Victoria Dempster, Class of ‘18
Mark Dennis, Class of ‘18
Olivia Densham, Class of ‘17
Kaitlyn Dunnet, Class of ‘22
Cole Edwards, Class of ‘22
Chloe Edwards, Class of ‘22
Brayden Estey, Class of ‘26
Nathan Estey, Class of ‘17
Mary Fillmore, Class of ‘22
Deanna Galant, Class of ‘18 & ‘20
Sandy Lumsden Galant, Class of ‘94
Katie Gartley, Class of ‘17
Arianna Gaudreault, Class of ‘23
Patrick Gaudreault, Class of ‘21
Laura Greer, Class of ‘15
Mary Grace Hawkes, Class of ‘05
Paige Henry, Class of ‘26
S. Hoffman, Class of ‘26
Chelsea Holmes, Class of ‘19
Megan Homan, Class of ‘16
Amanda Hunt, Class of ‘23
Myka Inglis, Class of ‘25
Matt Jardine, Class of ‘13
Bethany Jones, Class of ‘12
Shannon Kelly, Class of ‘25
Benjamin Kennedy, Class of ‘24
Tori Ketch, Class of ‘22
Becca Killam, Class of ‘22
Colby Lawrence, Class of ‘21 & ‘23
Emily Lawrence, Class of ‘21 & ’24
Christine Lavoie, Class of ‘21
Carrie Leblanc, Class of ‘09
Jamie-Lynn LeBlanc, Class of ‘11
Jiselle LeBlanc, Class of ‘08
Danielle Legere, Class of ‘22
Tara Leger, Class of ‘11 & ‘23
Rachel Leland, Class of ‘21
Jessie Lohnes, Class of ‘18
Alisha Longmire, Class of ‘20
Courtney Lutes, Class of ‘23
Madison McHatten, Class of ‘20
Erin McLearn, Class of ‘22
Julia McLearn, Class of ‘20
Martina MacCabe, Class of ‘22
David MacDonald, Class of ‘09
Matthew Maguire, Class of ‘23
Shannon Maguire, Class of ‘18
Zahra Mahdavi, Class of ‘23
Elijah Martin, Class of ‘26
Joseph Martin, Class of ‘19
Melissa Martin, Class of ‘10
Shannon Marr, Class of ‘08
Teri McMackin, Class of ‘13
Jordan McWilliams, Class of ‘11
Jessica McQuarrie, Class of ‘20
Malcolm Mealey, Class of ‘27
Kate Melanson, Class of ‘23 & ‘24
Rachael Mullin, Class of ‘13 & ‘18
Abby Murphy, Class of ‘23
Caelan Myra, Class of ‘20
Sarah Nelson, Class of ‘15
Janna Northrup, Class of ‘12
Amanda Perrell, Class of ‘10
Rev. Keith Pineo, Class of ‘09
Matthew Pittman, Class of ‘24
Monica Pratt, Class of ‘24
Brianna Rancourt, Class of ‘26
Shannon Raynard, Class of ‘10 & ‘12
Miranda Roberts, Class of ‘18
Selina Rossiter, Class of ‘17
Jonathan Schut, Class of ‘17
Rachel Sharp, Class of ‘21
Katie Smith, Class of ‘18
Emily Sonier, Class of ‘22
Renee Soucy, Class of ‘21
Taylor Spark, Class of ‘22 & ‘24
Natasha Stewart, Class of ‘20
Indira Trowsdale, Class of ‘23
Laura Waddell, Class of ‘14
Bethany Walker, Class of ‘24
Trent Webb, Class of ‘24
Emma Weir, Class of ‘26
Sabrina Wisniewska, Class of ‘14
Sharilyn West, Class of ‘14
Matthew Wheaton, Class of ‘15
Ashley Vickruck, Class of ‘15
Michael Vickruck, Class of ‘15
Hannah Vincent, Class of ‘19
Emily Vincent, Class of ‘16

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