BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – An email to the alumni of Cranbrook informed the school community of an ongoing investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct against a now-deceased faculty member who taught at the boy’s school from 1946 to 1961.
The email says a male alumnus of the school from that time period alerted the school to the accusation.
Cranbrook has brought in an outside investigator, who has now informed the school that she has found other alumni from that time period who tell similar stories of sexual misconduct.
“Although the reported incident occurred more than 60 years ago and does not involve any current faculty, administrators, staff or students, we take all disclosures of this kind very seriously,” said in a statement from the email.
Cranbrook’s Media Relations Director tells Local 4 News that the email to the school community will serve as the school’s statement for now.
The email does not identify the former faculty member by name or sex.
It encourages anyone with information about an incident or a situation involving sexual misconduct at Cranbrook, particularly if you were a student during the 1946-1961 time period, to contact the school’s investigator at 1-800-964-1766 or email at linda@nationslinvestugatiincounsel.com.
Read the letter sent to the community below:
“As you know, awareness of sexual misconduct in schools has grown over the last decade. At Cranbrook, our relationship with our students, past and present, is what we value most deeply and student safety and support is our highest concern. That is why we are choosing to communicate with our community about this difficult topic.
A Cranbrook School graduate has informed us that he experienced sexual misconduct during the time he was a student by a former faculty member who worked at the school from 1946 to 1961. This former faculty member is now deceased. We commend the graduate for having the courage to share his experience with us all these years later, and we thank him for contacting us.
Although the reported incident occurred more than 60 years ago and does not involve any current faculty, administrators, staff or students, we take all disclosures of this kind very seriously. Upon learning of this report, we immediately reviewed the situation in accordance with our established protocols. We also engaged the services of Ms. Linda Burwell to investigate the historical incident impartially and as thoroughly as possible given the passage of time. Ms. Burwell is an independent investigator and not an employee of Cranbrook. She is well respected for her investigative work and her professional biography can be found here: www.nationalinvestigationcounsel.com/biography.
Ms. Burwell recently informed us that her investigation, while ongoing, has identified additional alumni from this same time period reporting sexual impropriety by this same now-deceased former faculty member.
Our objective in writing you today is to ensure a thorough investigation and to affirm the value Cranbrook places on well-being and integrity. Any incident of sexual impropriety by a Cranbrook employee against a student, past or present, is wholly contrary to the values of Cranbrook Schools and Cranbrook Educational Community.
We encourage you to contact Ms. Burwell if you have any information about an incident or a situation involving sexual misconduct by any faculty or staff member at Cranbrook, particularly if you were a student during the 1946-1961 time period. In order to preserve confidentiality and privacy as best possible, we ask that you please contact Ms. Burwell directly. You can leave a message through a special 800 telephone number Ms. Burwell’s firm has established solely for this investigation at 1-800-964-1766, or you can send an email to Ms. Burwell at linda@nationalinvestigationcounsel.com and she will schedule a time to speak with you.
Please know that Cranbrook is deeply committed to creating and maintaining a learning environment that affirms and supports the safety, health, and well-being of all students. We take many steps to safeguard against incidents of sexual misconduct. Among them, we have explicit and detailed policies prohibiting sexual misconduct. We train all faculty and staff on sexual harassment and we investigate issues of sexual misconduct with dedicated resources. We routinely update and strengthen our policies and reporting procedures to ensure they are aligned with current best practices at independent and private schools – these protocols are also regularly circulated to our students and families. We abide by our role as mandated reporters and work collaboratively with local authorities whenever it is appropriate or necessary to protect our students.
If you have any questions about the information in this letter, please feel free to contact Dr. Jeff Suzik, our Director of Schools, by email at jeffsuzik@cranbrook.edu or by phone at 248.645.3603. We are grateful for your support as together we strive to ensure the well-being of every member of the Cranbrook Educational Community.”