Until the election of the rector, Ilona Meija, the current head of the JVLMA Senate, will perform the duties of the rector of the Jāzeps Vītolas Latvian Music Academy (JVLMA), the academy’s management informed the media.
She will start performing the duties of the rector on May 1. Meija has set as her main tasks the provision of a safe learning environment and the continuity of the learning process, as well as the preservation and development of high musical standards.
After it became known in January about the lecturers’ possible violent attitude towards the JVLMA students, Meija initiated the creation of an anonymous student survey, which revealed the larger dimensions of the problem.
JVLMA council will announce an international competition for the position of rector in the near future. The rector will be selected by the JVLMA Satversme meeting, acting according to the rector’s election regulations.
The current rector of JVLMA, Guntars Prānis, announced a week ago that he was resigning, as remaining in office after the sexual harassment scandal at the university would make the work of the academy more difficult. He will continue his work as rector until April 30.
As initially reported by Latvijas Televīzija, JVLMA has received submissions about possible sexual harassment of female students by its lecturers. So far, disciplinary punishment has been applied to one lecturer, another lecturer has been suspended without the possibility to communicate with students.
The State Police has started criminal proceedings in connection with the information about the possible harassment of female students by JVLMA lecturers. The criminal process has been started according to the section of the Criminal Law on criminal offense against morality and sexual integrity.
