Regents Investigate University of Montana Emails [AUDIO]

The office of the Commissioner of Higher Education will be examining all the email messages sent between University of Montana officials during the time that sexual assault investigations were underway.

Associate Commissioner for Communications & Human Resources Kevin McRea says Commissioner Cliff Christian is just beginning the process of examining the message obtained by various news media through the Freedom of Information Act. McRea says the situation is serious enough to warrant a thorough investigation, and it will take several weeks before any report can be expected. McRea says the reduction in Spring enrollment at UM was not necessarily due to publicity about sexual assaults, but may be due to the ebb and flow of economic factors in the state, along with a reduction in the number of seniors graduating from Montana high schools. Comments from Commissioner McRea are below.