Over the past few years, Binghamton University has been thrown into national news headlines for both the good and the bad, but more so the latter. As the University awaits the results of an ongoing review of the athletic department announced last semester, President Lois DeFleur is set to retire come July.

David Henahan, spokesman for SUNY, stated that the review has not yet been completed.

According to a press release, SUNY officials anticipate that “Judge [Judith] Kaye will provide the board of trustees with a report and recommendations that will enable us to address all issues related to the Binghamton athletic program and restore full public confidence in the University.”

Because the audit has not been completed, Henahan said, SUNY was unable to determine the repercussions of the audit’s results and any potential decisions following those results.

The review has been in progress since early October, after changes in the athletic department. The changes followed the September dismissals of six men’s basketball players, including Emanuel “Tiki” Mayben, who was arrested for criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance.

The dismissal, which came on Sept. 25, was followed five days later by an announcement from DeFleur stating that athletic director Joel Thirer had resigned, and that she was taking “additional actions” regarding BU’s athletic program. Coach Kevin Broadus was also placed on a leave of absence.

Additionally, last semester adjunct lecturer Sally Dear received a letter notifying her that she would not return for the spring semester. Dear said that the link between her speaking to The New York Times regarding the pressures she felt to overlook absences of athletes, namely basketball players, and her being dismissed was “indisputably strong.”

According to Gail Glover, spokeswoman for BU, Dear was rehired for the spring semester “while the SUNY board of trustees executive committee conducts its overall review of the Binghamton University athletic program.”

BU’s athletic department also made headlines last year when BU employee Elizabeth Williams filed a lawsuit against department employees Jason Siegel and Christopher Lewis and BU boosters Larry Hollander and Michael Marcus, alleging sexual harassment.

The two BU employees were given unpaid suspensions after a three-month BU investigation, though they appealed the action.