Dai returns to administration in newly created position

Hai-Lung Dai, the former provost, will now serve as vice president for international affairs.

Neil Theobald (left), addresses the state legislature in Harrisburg in March. Hai-Lung Dai (right), speaks at the opening of the Science Education and Research Center in 2014. TTN FILE PHOTO | PATRICK CLARK / KARA MILSTEIN

UPDATE 6:35 p.m.: A source said the agreement between the university and Dai is a “global settlement,” which concludes the lawsuit between Theobald and Dai. The source said Temple was “named as a party” in the lawsuit along with Theobald.

Former Provost Hai-Lung Dai will return to Temple in a new position as vice president for international affairs later this year, Board of Trustees spokesman Kevin Feeley wrote in a statement Friday.

The statement added that the university hired a third-party law firm to investigate sexual harassment claims against Dai and concluded “that the complaint could not be substantiated.”

Vice President for International Affairs is a new position in the President’s Office. Dai formerly served in the office as provost and executive vice president before former President Neil Theobald dismissed Dai in June 2016 over a $22 million deficit in the university’s merit scholarship program.

The Board delivered a vote of “no confidence” in Theobald on July 12 and Theobald resigned a week later. Theobald claimed the Board voted in response to his refusal to cover up the sexual harassment allegation against the former provost.

In September, Dai filed complaints of libel and slander against Theobald and is suing for at least $50,000 in damages, according to court records. 

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

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