Accused Michigan violin professor goes on leave
mainDeadline Detroit reports that Stephen Shipps, chairman of stringed instrument instruction at the University of Michigan, has gone on leave following allegations in the campus newspaper of long-running sexual misconduct.
Shipps, 66, has also resigned as director of the Strings Preparatory Academy.
He has not responded to the allegations.
There has been no word of an independent investigation.
Resignations and “voluntary” leave ARE reponses to the allegations.
He was also a commentator at the Indianapolis Competition…yikes
Did he publicly comment on any young female competitors appearance?
Anyone who is anyone, who has spent any time at all at Meadowmount in the last 30 years has beans to spill …
Gosh. I need to get to the optician!
When I read .. “Strings Preparatory Academy.”
My mind heard “Strings Predatory Academy” !!!
This is a very happy day. To see this man finally get what he deserves is something I have waited for, sometimes thinking it would never actually happen. Stephen Shipps uses people, but that does not just apply to all the women who have come forward to accuse this manipulative predator of sexual assault. Along with many other high-level professors of the of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance, Shipps used his power to not only assault women sexually, but also to assault men psychologically. I observed that he really enjoyed this, which makes any reports of sexual predation behind closed doors where it’s “her word against his” much more believable from the victims’ standpoint. The sexual predator rumor was always there, and it is completely unsurprising that this justice is finally being done. But I want to raise awareness that young men were also abused by Shipps and others at the at the UMSMTD—the only difference was that their punishment and torture was mental, not sexual. Predators like this live to have power—which is not only sexual, and does not only apply to women, though the women making the allegations should be loudly applauded. It’s just a different kind of abuse that he dished out to the young men, and no less damaging. Luckily, UM decided that it was time for him to leave: hopefully they clean house in the UMSMTD, and destroy the boys club atmosphere for good!