Dr. Ted Grace, former director of Ohio State Student Health Services, surrendered his Ohio medical license to the state medical board Wednesday. He was under investigation for failure to report incidents of sexual abuse by former university physician Richard Strauss. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Former Ohio State Director of Student Health Services Dr. Ted Grace admitted he failed to report sexual abuse by former university physician Richard Strauss and surrendered his Ohio medical license to the State Medical Board of Ohio Wednesday.
His license surrender comes a week before an administrative hearing as part of an investigation into Grace’s failure to report Strauss. It also comes after the medical board reopened 91 cases against physicians for sexual impropriety in March and announced it may open an additional 42 for failure to report.
By surrendering his license, Grace is permanently ineligible to apply for any certificate to practice medicine or surgery in the state. His Illinois medical license is still active and expires July 2023, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
The settlement agreement, approved by the board Wednesday, avoids an administrative hearing and is between the board and licensee to address the practitioner’s violation of the laws and regulations enforced by the medical board.
Grace’s original administrative hearing was scheduled for April 20-23 but is canceled.
Grace was the director of student health services from 1992-2007.
During a March 2020 medical board deposition into Grace’s failure to report Strauss’ abuse, Grace testified that he was aware of three complaints made by students in the 1990s. Grace didn’t report any of these complaints to the medical board, according to a medical board letter sent to Grace July 8, 2020.
The first complaint Grace was aware of dated back to January 1995 when a student reported Strauss performed an “inappropriately long and invasive exam of his genital area,” according to the July 8 letter.
The second complaint, also from January 1995, alleged Strauss gave a student an inappropriate genital exam and pushed his erect penis against the student’s leg. After this, Grace gave Strauss a verbal warning. Following this exam, Grace sent the affected student a letter in which he “falsely stated” that there had been no complaints made against Strauss, “although we have had several positive comments,” according to the July 8 letter.
Grace was made aware of a third complaint in January 1996 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 discarded. Grace then suspended Strauss from seeing students at the Student Health Center, the July 8 letter reads.
Strauss was team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the Student Wellness Center from 1978-98. An independent investigation in May 2019 found that Strauss abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his tenure and that Ohio State failed to act.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
This story was updated April 15 at 12:46 p.m. to include information from Grace’s letter of surrender.
