Jana Allen, news managing editor
Despite a statement from OU Public Affairs saying Shumate resigned to pursue “other career opportunities,” Shumate has announced he was forced to choose between being terminated or resigning.
Shumate, who served as vice president for university community from 2015 until Tuesday, said in a public statement given from Oklahoma Tower that his departure from the university was not voluntary. Shumate added that he was informed that the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity will be reinstated into its former house, where the Office of the University Community has been located.
He also said that he will be evaluating his legal options, evident from the fact that he held the press conference from his lawyer’s office in Oklahoma City. His lawyer was present during the entirety of the conference.
“I have decided to evaluate my legal options, in response to recent events, an option I could never have imagined making,” Shumate said. “I feel forced to make this decision not only as a result of my involuntary resignation, but due to false accusations the university has made and I anticipate will be making against my character. The nature of these allegations are not only slanderous but, from my perspective, constitute a high-tech lynching. I believe that the current administration at the University of Oklahoma is self-inflicting damage and potentially irreparable harm against our state’s beloved flagship institution.”
Shumate’s attorney said they will not go further into the alleged accusations the university may have made against Shumate, but in a release from OU Public Affairs immediately following the conference, the university said the revelation of a “significant misuse of university assets” caused Shumate to resign his position.
Shumate’s departure comes three weeks after James Gallogly took office as OU President and altered Shumate’s position to one that reports directly to the provost instead of directly to the president
