An entrance to Michigan State University located in East Lansing, Michigan. Photo: Katherine Welles/Shutterstock.com

Michigan State University's failure to detect and stop multiple sexual assaults by former sports doctor Larry Nassar shows a lack of institutional control and serious administrative impairment, the U.S. Department of Education said in a preliminary report that pointed a finger at the school's Office of General Counsel.

The findings were delivered to the school Dec. 14, but only became public this week. Corporate Counsel obtained a copy of the 47-page report Thursday. It cites numerous violations of the Clery Act, a federal law that requires universities receiving federal student aid to disclose data about campus crime and public safety.

“The structure of MSU's Clery compliance function, which has been housed within the university's Office of the General Counsel since its inception, also contributed to the violations and weaknesses identified during the review in multiple ways,” the report said.

It said the university “substantially failed to implement a minimally adequate Clery Act compliance program.” It added, “In or around 2010, the university did attempt to establish a rudimentary Clery Act compliance program. It elected to have a member of the general counsel staff serve as the Clery Act coordinator, in addition to other, unrelated legal duties.”

The coordinator had no expertise and no training, the report said. Among other reforms, it recommended the school hire a full-time Clery coordinator and adequately train the person.

During the investigation, longtime university general counsel Robert Noto was replaced by Robert Young, a former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Noto received a $436,000 severance deal.

“The university's persistent failure to take swift and decisive action to detect and stop Nassar's two-decade long predatory and abusive behavior indicates a lack of institutional control, especially in light of the credible information reported to institutional officials at several points over many years,” the report said. “This failure, alone, clearly demonstrates the institution's most serious administrative impairments.”

MSU Acting President Satish Udpa released a statement saying, “The safety and well-being of our campus community is our top priority. The Nassar crimes caused so much pain to so many people, and we have more work to do to address those issues and support the survivors and our community. We welcome the opportunity to work with experts to review and strengthen areas as we renew our commitment to improve.”

In its statement, the school said it has made “several proactive improvements to our Clery Act compliance efforts,” and would cooperate with the Department of Education on other reforms.

The report made clear that the university could still face a stiff penalty, even after making the required compliance changes.

MSU is working on a written response to the Department of Education that could take several months, according to spokesperson Emily Guerrant. The U.S. will wait for MSU's response before issuing a final report.

The report said the violations date back to 1997 and “involve victims, many of whom were minors at the time of the abuse, who reported these incidents to trusted adults, including coaches and athletic trainers.”

It noted 11 “representative sample of incidents” involving students' complaints against Nassar to various school officials. But no one took action to stop Nassar.

Nassar, who was also a USA Gymnastics doctor, was sentenced last year to what effectively is life in prison after pleading guilty to counts of criminal sexual misconduct. He was accused of sexually abusing hundreds of women under his care.

The school agreed to pay over $500 million to settle federal court suits brought by the victims.