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San Jose State president to resign after investigation into sex abuse allegations against university’s athletic trainer

An exterior view of San Jose State University is shown in a 2011 file photo. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)

San Jose State University President Mary Papazian will resign at the end of the fall semester, an announcement that comes two weeks after the Department of Justice released findings over the university’s failure to properly address allegations of sexual abuse by a former athletic trainer.

The university agreed to pay $1.6 million in late September to more than a dozen female athletes as part of its settlement with the Justice Department, which found the university in violation of Title IX — the civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at any federally funded education program.


The university failed to take adequate action in response to athletes’ reported allegations, which surfaced in 2009, and retaliated against two employees who raised repeated concerns over the then-director of sports medicine, Scott Shaw, the report said.

Papazian stepped in as president in 2016 and launched an investigation into the allegations against Shaw in 2019. She has received criticism over her administration’s handling of the investigation by outside groups as well as the Justice Department.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.