--- title: Bob Jones University Apologizes to Sexual Assault Victims description: A prominent Christian university in South Carolina apologized to victims of sexual assault and abuse canonical: https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/ author: Eliza Gray article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-11T16:32:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:21.783Z og:title: Bob Jones University Apologizes to Sexual Assault Victims og:description: A prominent Christian university in South Carolina apologized to victims of sexual assault and abuse og:url: https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55e2dd0c81aff646/69876e3e8e060122264592be/bob-jones-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2124 og:image:height: 1195 og:image:alt: BOB JONES UNIVERSITY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bob Jones University Apologizes to Sexual Assault Victims twitter:description: A prominent Christian university in South Carolina apologized to victims of sexual assault and abuse twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55e2dd0c81aff646/69876e3e8e060122264592be/bob-jones-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Christian University Apologizes to Sexual Assault Victims ## Video: My Rapist Is Still on Campus: Sexual Assault in the Ivy League [Watch (HLS stream): My Rapist Is Still on Campus: Sexual Assault in the Ivy League](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o8izpqKu.m3u8) (6:50)  _Published 2014-05-14. In April, 23 Columbia and Barnard students filed a federal Title IX complaint alleging that the University mishandled sexual assault cases_ by [Eliza Gray](https://time.com/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Dec 11, 2014 4:32 PM UTC  People cross over the walkway near the fountains on the campus of Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. on March 1, 2000. People cross over the walkway near the fountains on the campus of Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. on March 1, 2000.Patrick Collard—AP by [Eliza Gray](https://time.com/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Dec 11, 2014 4:32 PM UTC A prominent Christian university in South Carolina apologized to victims of sexual assault and abuse Wednesday ahead of [a report released Thursday](http://netgrace.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Report.pdf) that documented the school’s failure to adequately respond to their needs. “On behalf of Bob Jones University, I would like to sincerely and humbly apologize to those who felt they did not receive from us genuine love, compassion, understanding, and support after suffering sexual abuse or assault,” university president Steve Pettit said in an address to students Wednesday. “We did not live up to their expectations. We failed to uphold and honor our own core values.” **MORE**: [The sexual assault crisis on American campuses](http://time.com/100542/the-sexual-assault-crisis-on-american-campuses/) The apology came in advance of [a 300-page report](http://netgrace.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Report.pdf) published Thursday, drawn from interviews with some 40 victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault at Bob Jones university over four decades. The report paints a picture of an administration that failed to offer them appropriate counsel, and in some instances even made them feel at fault for their abuse. The report was conducted by an independent organization, GRACE, a non-profit Christian group dedicated to helping the Christian community respond to abuse. “This comprehensive report contains painful disclosures by sexual abuse victims and strong language when describing the impact of the institutional responses to abuse disclosures,” GRACE said. The report comes after months of scrutiny of colleges and universities across the country, as they try to grapple with mounting calls to reform the institutional response to campus sexual assault. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/"},"headline":"Christian University Apologizes to Sexual Assault Victims","datePublished":"2014-12-11T16:32:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:21.783Z","description":"\"We failed to uphold and honor our own core values\"","url":"https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/","keywords":["Living","Sexual Assault","Crime","campus sexual assault"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55e2dd0c81aff646/69876e3e8e060122264592be/bob-jones-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Gray","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-gray/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55e2dd0c81aff646/69876e3e8e060122264592be/bob-jones-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BOB JONES UNIVERSITY","caption":"BOB JONES UNIVERSITY","creditText":"Patrick Collard—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/","name":"Christian University Apologizes to Sexual Assault Victims"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"My Rapist Is Still on Campus: Sexual Assault in the Ivy League","description":"In April, 23 Columbia and Barnard students filed a federal Title IX complaint alleging that the University mishandled sexual assault cases","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/o8izpqKu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-14T14:51:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o8izpqKu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/","duration":"PT6M50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3629959/bob-jones-university-campus-sexual-assault/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```