COLUMN — Cornell's sexual — assault investigation aims at transparency, but will findings become public?

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Sara Randazzo Oct 13 (Reuters) — In an attempt to quell the public outcry over Cornell University’s handling of sexual assault allegations, the Ivy League school’s board took a common step: call in the lawyers. A team from King & Spalding, led by Justice Department veteran Sally Yates, has been tasked with conducting an independent investigation into Cornell’s policies and procedures for addressing sexual harassment and assault on campus, including its response to the “Jane Doe” case that has drawn national attention. Cornell's board said it “intends to share the results and recommendations with the Cornell community," but education attorneys I spoke to said intentions can change and what's ultimately released could be limited to policy suggestions rather than a full dissection of what King & Spalding finds. Universities pledging transparency after a crisis face a competing interest of protecting themselves from further litigation. That tension, lawyers say, often leads universities to structure investigations to reduce the paper trail and reveal less than the public may expect. Cornell declined to c