Vanderbilt band director leaves amid investigation

Students walk through the Warren College and Moore College area at Vanderbilt University on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Nashville.
Students walk through the Warren College and Moore College area at Vanderbilt University on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Nashville.

The director of the marching band at Vanderbilt University abruptly left the job Thursday amid questions over an inappropriate relationship he had with a high school student while serving as a band director in Kentucky more than 10 years ago.

Elizabeth Latt, a Vanderbilt spokeswoman, told The Tennessean late Thursday that Joseph Corey Francis was no longer the director of university bands, a position that oversees Vanderbilt's Spirit of Gold marching band. Latt said Francis left Thursday, but would not say if he was fired or resigned.

Francis also wouldn't say whether he was fired or resigned from his position, but told The Tennessean he participated in inappropriate conduct with a student while he worked as an assistant band director at a high school in Kentucky.

"Absolutely. Yes, that's why I spent the last 12 years of my life trying to rebuild myself, go through grad school and fix my life from a mistake that I had made," Francis said.

He said he did not bring up the inappropriate conduct during the hiring process with Vanderbilt. Latt also said "we did not have that information at the time" Francis was hired.

Francis is currently banned from teaching in Kentucky until at least 2019, and has been since late 2004, according to information obtained through a public records request. That's due to an inappropriate relationship Francis had with a high school student while Francis was a band director at Taylor County (Ky.) High School.

In a letter from February 2004, then-Superintendent Gary Seaborne wrote that the principal of Francis' school reported the inappropriate relationship with a student. The relationship started when the girl was in ninth grade, according to the letter.

photo Joseph Corey Francis

Seaborne wrote that Francis "admitted on January 28, 2004, that you had driven (the student) home, that you had been alone with (the student) in your apartment, and that you had held hands, hugged, and kissed (the student) on numerous occasions."

"Despite your behavior, (the student's) parents have requested that you be permitted to complete the 2003-04 school year at the high school as long as you have no contact with (the student) outside of her activities as a member of the band."

Late Thursday, Francis admitted to hugging and kissing the student and to engaging in inappropriate conduct.

"I understand there are questions, I understand there are going to be concerns, I understand this is something that is going to follow me the rest of my life," Francis said.

Francis, 36, said he would have been 23 or 24 years old when the relationship began. He said it was unfair to characterize what happened as a "romantic relationship." He called it an "experience" and said it lasted for a "brief amount of time."

In his letter, Seaborne calls Francis' actions "completely unacceptable," an "intolerable offense" and "immoral." He says he would be justified in firing Francis, but decided to allow him to remain at the school for the rest of the year "at the request of (the student's) parents." Francis' signature appears at the bottom of Seaborne's letter.

Seaborne, who is no longer the superintendent, did not immediately respond late Thursday. No one answered the phone at Taylor County High School or the Taylor County Board of Education on Thursday afternoon.

During an interview in September for a separate story, Francis said he started working with the Vanderbilt band in July after the previous director retired. When the reporter asked Francis about his career in Kentucky, he became visibly flustered and declined to discuss specifics about his time there.

In documents obtained by The Tennessean, Francis appears to apologize for his actions in an unsigned letter to the professional standards board.

"I have no explanation of why I did what I did, but I am of extreme remorse over my actions. I am very thankful, however, as to how the situation was handled though (sic) the school and school district," the letter states.

"Their first priority was always the student, not wanting to bring more hurt to the student. They also kept my feelings and profession in mind. They intend not to hurt my future as a teacher and have helped in me finding a new position."

Francis said it's possible that he wrote the letter, but he couldn't be certain.

Francis said he's never engaged in similar inappropriate conduct again, but acknowledged working with high school students in various capacities since leaving Taylor County High School.

"To that I will just simply say just because a person makes a mistake does not mean that their character is always in question," Francis said, when asked why someone should trust that he didn't have further inappropriate relationships.

Latt declined to provide information about who hired Francis, or the general decision-making process for hiring a director of university bands.

"Vanderbilt University consistently does background checks for all staff, which includes checking references and criminal records," Latt said.

Francis was quick to note that there is no criminal record of the act, and that it has never come up in other job interviews.

Latt said she couldn't confirm when Francis was hired, how long he had been with the university or his salary, saying they were all personnel issues. She did confirm that director of university bands is a full-time position.

Reporter Adam Tamburin contributed to this report.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.

Upcoming Events