Feds Investigate Johns Hopkins Sex Assault Response

Johns Hopkins University is among a growing list of schools under federal investigation for their handling of sexual assault complaints.

An email from the Baltimore school's president on Tuesday alerted students and faculty that the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into a complaint filed earlier this year about Hopkins' response to alleged sexual assaults.

As of Aug. 6, 74 higher education institutions are under investigation for possible Title IX violations. Title IX is a federal law that bars gender discrimination. The Education Department updates the list weekly, and Hopkins was not on last week's list.

In the email, President Ronald Daniels said that university officials spoke Monday with federal investigators and ``pledged our full cooperation.''

"Sexual violence on our campuses, or anywhere, is unacceptable,'' Daniels wrote, adding that "the safety and well-being of all members of the Johns Hopkins community is among our most fundamental responsibilities and will always be our shared priority.''

Johns Hopkins is a private university with nearly 20,000 full- and part-time students, and is considered one of the top research universities in the country. Together with Johns Hopkins Medicine, it is Maryland's largest employer.

University spokesman Dennis O'Shea said the university does not have any information about the complaint that prompted the Education Department to open an investigation, but that the school "will be getting underway quickly in terms of getting together the documents asked for.''