Lt. Colonel Michael Kelvington removed from Ohio State Army ROTC post, replaced by Lt. Colonel Steven Spiker in light of ongoing Title IX investigation

Emma Wozniak, Lucy Lawler
Sat, 15 Jun 2024 00:29:23 +0000
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Former Ohio State Army ROTC Lt. Colonel Michael Kelvington (left), who was also the university’s professor of military science and leadership, was officially replaced by Lt. Colonel Steven Spiker (right) effective June 7. Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State University and Lt. Colonel Steven Spiker, respectively

Ohio State Army ROTC Lt. Colonel Michael Kelvington was relieved of his university position and officially replaced by Lt. Colonel Steven Spiker as of June 7, as part of an ongoing Title IX investigation.?

The U.S. Army Cadet Command confirmed Kelvington was on Jan. 22 issued a “no-contact order,” mandating he not interact with cadets and “perform administrative duties only.” Kelvington was later removed from his position and replaced by Spiker, who had served as the university’s interim professor of military science.?

“Lt. Col. Kelvington remains assigned to Cadet Command in an administrative role away from the university and cadets pending the completion of the law enforcement investigation,” Maj. Dan Lessard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Cadet Command said.

Kelvington and Spiker each declined to comment.

The U.S. Army Cadet Command collaborates with universities to recruit, teach and train senior ROTC cadets so they can be prepared to enter the Army as “officers of character” after their time at university and once they are commissioned, according to its mission statement on the U.S. Military Installations’ website.?

Previous Lantern reporting revealed Kelvington had violated a “stay away order” in February and March, respectively, which meant he was only able to be on campus for approved appointments. At that time, he had been reassigned off campus while an ongoing Title IX investigation took place. The details of the order — including why it was ordered and what exactly Kelvington was ordered to stay away from — are still unclear.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal statute that prohibits sex-based discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s website. Sexual assault, other forms of sexual violence and treatment of LGBTQI+ students are, among several others, “key issue areas” encompassed by Title IX, according to the website.?

University spokesperson Chris Booker confirmed the U.S. Army Cadet Command removed Kelvington from his positions as Ohio State’s designated professor of military science and leadership and the chair of the Military Science and Leadership department.?

The Lantern was unable to find a readily available description of either job position on a university website.

Booker declined to comment on what exactly Kelvington has been ordered to “stay away” from or what prompted the initial Title IX violation but wrote in a statement Ohio State moved quickly to investigate after allegations came to light.

“The university shared the allegations with the U.S. Army, and Lt. Col. Kelvington was reassigned off campus pending an ongoing investigation,” Booker stated. “Subsequently, the U.S. Army removed him from the Army ROTC department chair position, and he is no longer assigned to Ohio State. Title IX regulations prevent us from commenting further about the ongoing investigation.”

The Lantern will continue following this ongoing investigation and report information as it is obtained.