Grand Canyon University VP Fired Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

By Grayson Schmidt
Published: Friday, June 14, 2019 - 5:39pm
Updated: Tuesday, June 18, 2019 - 8:44am

Grand Canyon University is looking for a new vice president after firing former Vice President Roy Shick last weekend amid sexual assault allegations from his time at the University of Washington.

In an email sent Friday morning, GCU spokesman Bob Romantic said the university was first notified of the allegations after being contacted by the Seattle Times on June 7. Romantic said that Shick was placed on temporary administrative leave while the university conducted its own investigations and subsequently fired him the following Sunday.

According to a University of Washington investigative report obtained by the Seattle Times, Shick, who was senior associate athletic director at UW, is accused of sexually assaulting a Washington student-athlete following a social event in May 2017. The report alleges that Shick offered the victim a ride from the event and instead drove her behind the university baseball fields and assaulted her in his truck.

The report said that the victim was heavily intoxicated and could not give consent. According to the report, when approached by university investigators regarding the incident, he could “not provide his recollection of events."

The university began its investigation in fall 2017, and, according to the Seattle Times, Shick resigned from his position at the university in January 2018.

After his resignation, the Times reports that Shick worked at a Seattle-based startup. Romantic said Shick was hired as vice president of advancement in November 2018 and that a background check was conducted as part of the GCU’s “normal onboarding process.”

That background check did not reveal any misconduct, Romantic said.

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