Former Minot State athletic director subject of external investigation

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – Minot State University’s president requested an outside investigation into Athletic Director Kevin Forde, who resigned Friday.

A lengthy report from Special Assistant Attorney General Meredith Vukelic details her investigation into a series of complaints regarding Forde’s conduct during his time with the school.

The report details complaints of unwanted touching as well as holding male and female coaches and employees to differing standards of conduct.

The investigator said they interviewed 18 people, including Forde.

In the report, Vukelic said the university’s Human Resources Department warned Forde on Oct. 5, 2022, to refrain from unwanted touching of employees, but that further alleged incidents were reported, including an incident two days later.

Vukelic further investigated how three female coaches were placed on leave due to accusations of treating student-athletes poorly. She said in her report that no male coaches were placed on leave.

Vukelic said one male coach was accused of inappropriate use of social media, while another coach was accused of “sex-based conduct” including “wagering with another college’s male athlete about sex with a female MSU athlete,” among other accusations.

The report said several former employees said Forde’s conduct was one of their reasons for leaving the school.

Vukelic also said that Forde received a largely positive written report from the president on Aug. 4, 2023.

Vukelic’s report also indicates other employees, both male and female, said they liked working for Forde and that he had a “big position to fill” and was placed into a “mess.”

Vukelic said Forde told her “he has asked for and valued everyone’s opinions” and that “he won’t take a male’s opinion over a female’s but makes decisions that is best for the Department.”

Vukelic ultimately ruled in her report that the evidence did not violate standards of Title VII or Title IX, but did violate policies from both Minot State and the State Board of Higher Education.

The investigator ruled that “dismissal could be supported.” She also recommended Forde take training regarding workplace conduct as well as university and SBHE policies and create a procedure for handling personnel complaints.

MSU hired Forde following interviews with four finalists in July 2022.

Kevin Harmon, the school’s vice president of Student Affairs, is currently serving as interim athletic director. Harmon served as interim athletic director before Forde’s hire.

Minot State University President Dr. Steven Shirley provided the following statement to Your News Leader:

“A formal complaint regarding Minot State University’s athletic director Kevin Forde was made in October 2023 by an employee from MSU’s Athletic Department. Upon initially looking into the complaint and surrounding facts, it was determined to be quite complex and required investigative expertise beyond our internal campus personnel. Therefore, I made the decision to engage the services of an external neutral investigator, an attorney with expertise in both education law and labor and employment law, to review the complaint and complete a thorough investigation. That investigation has been ongoing the past two months, and we received the final report last week.

“In reviewing the report and multiple issues uncovered through this extensive investigation, it became apparent MSU had fallen short of our expectations for an appropriate workplace environment within Athletics. Mr. Forde and I met after the report was completed, and he informed me of his resignation as MSU’s athletic director effective January 12, 2024.

“We will certainly learn from this experience and these findings to improve MSU. It is imperative we ensure our workplace environment is the absolute best, fairest, and most productive it can be for every employee who is part of the MSU family. We have nearly 400 full-time employees at Minot State, along with hundreds of part-time employees, and every one of them deserves to be and must be treated with respect and fairness. I want to thank the individuals who shared their concerns and participated in this investigation. This recent history of events in MSU Athletics, while painful and challenging, is also an opportunity for us to learn and strive to improve, and as a team we will move forward together.

“We will begin a search in the near future to identify the next athletic director for Minot State University. The future is bright for the Beavers and our student-athletes, and I look forward to finding the best individual we can to lead our terrific team of coaches and employees in MSU Athletics. In the meantime, I thank vice-president Kevin Harmon for his service as interim AD, and thank all of our fans for their continued interest and support of Beaver Athletics.”

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