Title IX Office to Report to Diversity Vice President

The following letter by Georgina Dodge, vice president for diversity and inclusion, was emailed to the campus community yesterday afternoon:

Dear campus community,

I write to share with you a realignment of resources that will improve support services for individuals on our campus. After examining how to enhance services while leveraging existing programs and expertise, President Loh has asked me to assume responsibility for the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct (OCRSM), effective Monday, October 21. I plan to study more deeply the structure, stakeholders, and scope of the office in order to ensure accessible and inclusive services to our community members in need of them.

Title IX offices at universities across the country continue to evolve and grow, and I believe this change is a necessary next step for our university to do the same. As a former Title IX Coordinator and a long-term board member for the Association of Title IX Administrators, I am energized to assume leadership of OCRSM. I expect this change to ultimately have beneficial impacts for all responsibilities of the office, including a further review of compliance as it relates to the civil rights of all protected classes in our community.

One of my primary goals is to provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing sexual misconduct and civil rights on our campus that will advance the university’s values. The recommendations of the 2017 Joint President/Senate Sexual Assault Prevention Task Force and the 2018 Joint President/Senate Inclusion and Respect Task Force provide valuable guidance upon which we will build. Working together, OCRSM and the current functions within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will enhance the services they each provide while sharing expertise and developing more campus-wide collaboration.

I commend the staff in OCRSM for their tireless work to provide critical services to our community. Their efforts will be advanced by hiring three new staff members for which searches are currently underway. During this transition, I want to underscore my commitment to stakeholder engagement, student involvement, and a seamless progression for our campus community.

Sincerely,

Georgina Dodge, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion