Former Ohio State physician Ted Grace will have his medical license reviewed after testifying he knew of Richard Strauss’ abuse and did not report sis to the State Medical Board.| Credit: Lantern file photo
The State Medical Board of Ohio will review the license of former Ohio State physician Ted Grace, who testified about his knowledge of former university doctor Richard Strauss’ abuse of students and student-athletes and his failure to report it to the board at the time.
The board sent a letter to Grace July 8, who served as the director of Student Health Services from 1992-2007, citing Grace’s March testimony before the board during an investigation into physicians’ failure to report Strauss as the reason for the review. His testimony included three separate complaints made by students about Strauss — none of which Grace reported to the medical board, according to the letter. Grace currently serves as the director of Student Health Services at Southern Illinois University.
Grace did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Strauss was the team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the university’s Student Wellness Center from 1978-98. An independent investigation found that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his tenure and that Ohio State failed to act in May 2019. The university reached a $40.9 million settlement with victims in 12 of 23 Strauss-related lawsuits against Ohio State in early May.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
The first complaint Grace was aware of dated back to January 1995, in which a student reported Strauss performed an “inappropriately long and invasive exam of his genital area,” according to the letter.
The second complaint — also from January 1995 — alleged Strauss gave a student an inappropriate exam of his genitals and pushed his erect penis against the student’s leg, after which Grace gave Strauss a verbal warning. Following this exam, Grace sent a letter to the affected student in which he “falsely stated” that no one had ever filed a complaint against Strauss, “although we have had several positive comments,” according to the letter.
In January 1996, Grace was made aware of the third complaint after a student exited an exam screaming that Strauss was a “pervert” and “crazy.” The student’s medical chart was ripped up and lab work was splattered on the wall. Grace then suspended Strauss from seeing students at the Student Health Center, the letter reads.
The board will decide whether to “limit, revoke, permanently revoke, suspend, refuse to grant or register or renew or reinstate” Grace’s license to practice medicine. The board has since set the date of Grace’s hearing for January 6, 2021, via telephone conference.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Aug. 6 at 1:45 p.m. with the date of the hearing.
