After researching a complaint from an employee, the university took no disciplinary action.
Heather Lyke, a potential candidate to be promoted to athletic director at Syracuse, was the subject of a human resources complaint filed with the university’s human resources department that accused her of “harassment, bullying and abuse of authority.”
The student newspaper, The Daily Orange, broke the news on Monday about Lyke. The former athletic director at Pitt, she began work last July 1 as the special adviser to chancellor Kent Syverud and AD John Wildhack.
The university’s human resources department researched the Dec. 1 complaint, asked for more specifics, and took no formal discipline.
Wildhack is retiring this summer. A seven-person search committee has been tasked with identifying potential replacements.
The complaint, filed by an unidentified employee, alleged Lyke engaged in misconduct for at least “the past several months.”
University of Pittsburgh athletic director Heather Lyke in attendance as the Panthers host the Florida State Seminoles at Acrisure Stadium in 2023. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images“Multiple staff members within the athletics department have experienced or witnessed the behavior,” the complainant wrote. “I have personally experienced this conduct and have had coworkers express similar concerns privately.”
Additionally, the document spelled out specifics, all of which the complainant alleged amounted to “intimidation,” that included:
- Telling employees to “disregard instructions” that Wildhack previously had given to staff
- “Overstepping appropriate boundaries” by encouraging employees to do things her way, rather than by “established processes”
- Embarrassing employees during meetings
- Pressuring at least one staff member to change “standard professional communication habits”
In addition, the complainant alleged that a member of the campus leadership group had interfered with any action being taken on a previous report to human resources, which led to the formal filing.
The university’s ruling on that portion of the complaint said there was no suppression of the original complaint by a member of campus administration.
The human resources department also spoke to Lyke.
“Ms. Lyke has received feedback about her approach,” the document concluded. “Both Ms. Lyke and Mr. Wildhack will be encouraged to align on their directives and provide transparent communication of changes.”
Jeff Stoecker, the senior vice president and chief communications officer at Syracuse, provided this statement to The Daily Orange on Monday:
“Syracuse University takes all workplace concerns seriously and, following a thorough review that included interviews with multiple individuals, found no evidence of a policy violation or interference in the process. We are confident the matter was handled with full objectivity and integrity.”
Lyke, 55, was hired as the athletic director at Pitt in March 2017 after four years in the same role at Eastern Michigan. She was fired in September 2024 as chancellor Joan Gabel said Pitt needed “a new vision and a new leader of our athletics department."
Last month, Lyke was named in connection with six lawsuits filed by former women’s basketball players against the university and coach Tory Verdi, alleging he abused the players and Lyke took no action.
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