UR commission hears discrimination is widespread
The gender commission says the recommendations don't address the issues of widespread harassment and discrimination
UR commission hears discrimination is widespread The gender commission says the recommendations don't address the issues of widespread harassment and discrimination Check out this story on DemocratandChronicle.com: http://on.rocne.ws/2FDx1vf
Lauren Peace, @LaurenMPeace Published 2:19 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2018 | Updated 5:44 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2018
Rush Rhees library at the University of Rochester river campus.(Photo: File photo)Buy Photo
Before the conclusion of an independent investigation into alleged sexual harassment in the University of Rochester's Brain and Cognitive Sciences department, 17 women, with titles ranging from professor to graduate student, to medical student and undergraduate, were already hard at work in the beginning stages of an effort to implement change.
The Commission on Women and Gender Equity in Academia was convened in late October, following the filing of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint by nine current and former members of the BCS department against the university and fellow professor, Florian Jaeger, who has been at the center of the scandal.
Harassment more widespread
While the formation of the commission was in response to the EEOC complaint, its work has not focused on the specific case, rather on improving the "policies, procedures, and culture that affect women and LGBTQI in academic settings," at UR and beyond.
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Since assembling, the commission has reviewed previous recommendations and gathered new information aiming to "seek solutions, action, and accountability that will lead to a more inclusive and welcoming community in which all academic members may thrive."
At a Faculty Senate meeting on Jan. 23, commission co-chair Amy Lerner delivered the first formal address since the commission's formation and provided an update on the progress that's been made.
The commission, Lerner said "... has been very busy reviewing our policies and procedures, as well as the representation of women and members of the LGBTQ community, both here at the University of Rochester and at peer institutions," Lerner said in her report. "We have also received input from many people — through anonymous feedback, in person conversations, and emails. This has included alumni, students, faculty and staff members, and we thank them for speaking out, with sometimes heartbreaking or frustrating stories."
"Based on this review, it is very clear to us that issues of sexual harassment and discrimination as well as dissatisfaction with the University's response to these concerns are not isolated to one department."
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Two weeks earlier, Lerner and the commission met with former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Mary Jo White, who conducted and concluded the independent investigation that mostly cleared accused Professor Florian Jaeger and the university.
Recommendations don't go far enough
In her address to the Faculty Senate, Lerner said that while the recommendations made in the independent investigation were good, the commission does not believe that they are enough and that there's much work to be done before the university community is able to move beyond the issues raised in the EEOC complaint.
She went on to raise eight areas of focus, which she highlighted as starting points for the more comprehensive recommendations expected to come from the commission later in the year.
Overall, an emphasis was placed on refining, redefining and implementing policy on sexual harassment and intimate relationships and ensuring that community members have a strong understanding of these policies, and of resources available to use to navigate situations of uncertainty. She went on to stress that the university must clarify what disciplinary action can and will be taken in circumstances where policy is broken.
"There is a real impression in the community that tenured faculty can get away with anything without being punished. There is clearly some confusion or disagreement about how and why tenure may be revoked and what else may be done to try to provide consequences for misconduct," Lerner said in the report.
Other efforts highlighted included pushing the university to find a better balance between transparency and confidentiality so that both parties involved are protected and, addressing the issues underlying gender inequality in academia.
In summary, Lerner, on behalf of the commission, called for the appointment of a senior UR cabinet-level official to oversee the implementation of the recommendations, and for the establishment of concrete core values.
"We have heard from many individuals who simply wanted to be treated with fairness and respect. In fact, we expect our undergraduates to abide by a set of communal principles. We have a code of conduct for interactions with patients, and for interactions with our business partners. Many universities and businesses like Wegmans have such values or codes of conduct, but here at the University of Rochester, we haven't broadly articulated such values, nor have we agreed on how we might hold all community members accountable to these principles," said Lerner. "The commission recommends that we work together to establish a set of core values that we expect all members of the community to understand and embrace."
LPEACE@Gannett.com
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