OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Latest on the resignation of the University of Oklahoma’s diversity officer (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
A University of Oklahoma internal audit shows that the school’s former chief diversity officer illegally used a university vehicle hundreds of times to commute to and from work and to take family trips.
The audit released Thursday investigated the use of the state vehicle by Vice President of University Community Jabar Shumate. The former state senator was hired three years ago amid campus unrest after videos surfaced showing fraternity members engaged in racist chants.
The audit includes GPS data that shows Shumate’s university-owned vehicle parked overnight at his home hundreds of times.
He resigned from the university this week. In a statement Thursday, Shumate said university officials were well aware of his vehicle usage and sanctioned his travel. He says the audit was released publicly to “assassinate my character.”
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11:21 a.m.
The University of Oklahoma’s former chief diversity officer says he was forced to resign from the school.
Jabar Shumate said Wednesday that he’s considering legal action against the university because of the forced resignation, as well as “false accusations” the university made “against my character.”
The university has responded to the allegations with a statement saying Shumate voluntarily resigned after being confronted with an audit that revealed “a significant misuse of university assets.”
Shumate became Chief Diversity Officer in 2015 after videos surfaced showing Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members at the university singing racist lyrics. The university closed the fraternity house and banned the chapter from campus.
Shumate says he recently expressed concerns about reports the university is reinstating the fraternity, but the school denies any such plans.
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