A university investigation found ‘no evidence’ to support online accusations against Elizabeth Greenop.
The University of Notre Dame has found no evidence of wrongdoing against a former residential hall rector accused of sexual misconduct via anonymous posts online and will welcome her back to another position, the university said.
Elizabeth Greenop, who was the rector of a women’s dorm called McGlinn Hall, went on administrative leave June 29 shortly after anonymous accusations of sexual assault and other misconduct were published on an Instagram account.
“After a thorough investigation into anonymous online allegations against a rector and the purported corroborating evidence submitted anonymously to the University, there was no evidence to support that any of the alleged misconduct occurred. Accordingly, the rector was found not responsible,” Notre Dame said in a written statement Wednesday, Oct. 28.
“The rector in question was fully and thoroughly cooperative throughout the entire investigation, which included significant efforts to identify individuals with any knowledge relevant to the alleged misconduct as well as any misconduct involving the types that were alleged,” the university said.
“The investigation also included numerous interviews with members of the residence hall community,” the university’s statement continued. “At no point did anyone interviewed identify themselves as being subject to the alleged misconduct or as being aware of anyone else who had been subject to such misconduct.”
Karen Kennedy, associate vice president for residential life at Notre Dame, said Greenop “will return from administrative leave in the coming weeks and has decided to take on a new role in the Division of Student Affairs as an Assistant Director in Residential Life,” according to an email message obtained by the Register that Kennedy sent to residents of McGlinn Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
The university expects to name a new permanent rector of the dormitory in January 2027, said Kennedy, who could not be immediately reached for further comment late Wednesday afternoon.
Allegations against Greenop made by anonymous contributors presenting themselves as McGlinn residents were first posted on the Share Your Story Notre Dame Instagram page on June 17. The social media account, which is not formally affiliated with the university, describes itself as a venue for Notre Dame community members to publicize instances of on-campus sexual misconduct, which users submit anonymously via a Google form.
On Aug. 18, Greenop filed a defamation lawsuit against her unnamed accusers and asked an Indiana state court to compel Meta Platforms Inc., the company that owns Instagram, to provide information about the account holder and the people who made the posts accusing her, as the Register reported last month.
“As direct result of the false statements, I have suffered injury to my reputation, the loss of my position and threat to my livelihood, and severe emotional distress,” Greenop said in an affidavit submitted to the court on Sept. 9.
On Oct. 9, a state superior court judge issued an order enabling Greenop’s lawyers to serve papers on Meta Platforms seeking the name, mailing address, email address and telephone number of the person “associated with the Account and with the submitting users,” according to court papers. The order grants time for Meta Platforms and for the Instagram account holder and users to challenge the subpoena, if they wish.
Michael Smyth, a lawyer representing Greenop in that case, could not immediately be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.