The top administrator at Oregon State University-Cascades, Sherman Bloomer, was removed from his role as chancellor and dean by a top university official Tuesday after new information surfaced from an ongoing investigation into an alleged policy or ethics violation.
Roy Haggerty, provost and vice president with Oregon State University, informed students and staff across all campuses of the decision in an April 7 letter but did not release details of the investigation. The investigation stems from a March 18 complaint filed with the Office of Audit Risk and Compliance and is led by the Office of Equal Opportunity & Access, which ensures compliance with civil rights laws and policies, according to the university.
The university has declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
“I ask for patience as investigators continue to work deliberately and expeditiously according to university policies,” Haggerty said in the letter.
Rob Odom, vice president of university relations and marketing, told the Source that although Bloomer was fired from his role as dean, he remains “on leave” from his faculty position, which means he could return as faculty pending results of the investigation.
Bloomer began leave March 23, five days after the initial complaint. Odom declined to say whether Bloomer is still being paid.
“The university generally does not comment further on OSU employee leave,” Odom said in an email.
Haggerty wrote that most OSU staff are considered “responsible employees” and have an obligation to report when they believe “a violation of the university’s Sexual Misconduct and Discrimination, Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment, or Retaliation policies may have occurred.”
Haggerty said the university “strongly encourages all reports of suspected wrongdoing, violations of university policy, or breaches of ethical conduct,” citing an anonymous hotline for doing so.
He said investigations typically “take time” to conduct interviews and gather evidence.
“The outcomes of such investigations may remain confidential due to privacy laws and concerns,” he wrote.
OSU promoted Bloomer to chancellor and dean of its Bend campus in 2023 after nearly three decades with the university. He came to OSU in 1995 to chair the Department of Geosciences and went on to serve as dean of the College of Sciences and leader of the budget and planning office. Before OSU, he was a faculty member at Boston University and Duke University.
OSU tapped a longtime university leader, Dr. Becky Johnson, to serve as interim dean for the Bend campus. Johnson was a top administrator at OSU-Cascades from 2009 to 2021 and served as interim president for the whole university system from 2021 to 2022 before retiring.
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