Office Responsibilities and Activities

The Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs accomplishes its charge through a number of functional and cross-functional activities with other Penn partners that include, but are not limited to:

Umbrella Responsibilities of the Office

• Advocating for Penn's policies, procedures and priorities in the areas of equal opportunity and affirmative action;
• Overseeing the administration and implementation of the University's affirmative action programs and nondiscrimination policies and programs;
• Monitoring the effectiveness of the University's affirmative action programs and nondiscrimination policies and procedures to ensure compliance with relevant federal, state and local laws;
• Coordinating the preparation of the University's written Affirmative Action Plans in compliance with relevant Federal regulations;

• Partnering with the Division of Human Resources on staff affirmative action and nondiscrimination matters;
• Partnering with the Office of the Associate Provost and others on faculty affirmative action and nondiscrimination matters;
• Partnering with other University offices and administrators to ensure the effective implementation of the University's affirmative action and nondiscrimination policies;

• Consulting with faculty and staff with disabilities on requests for reasonable accommodation, as well as consulting with managers and supervisors who need information on how to reasonably accommodate their employees with disabilities;
• Authorizing use of the Penn Access Transit (PAT) for faculty and staff;
• Overseeing building and program accessibility (shared responsibility with the Office of Student Disabilities Services);
• Monitoring construction and renovation projects to ensure programs and activities are accessible to the people with disabilities;
• Participating in the resolution of complaints regarding campus building and program accessibility;

Education and Information

• Providing information on Penn's affirmative action and nondiscrimination policies;
• Providing educational programs on affirmative action, equal opportunity and nondiscrimination issues;
• Offering suggestions on outreach and recruitment strategies;
• Providing technical assistance to University personnel on affirmative action and nondiscrimination issues;

• Investigating complaints of harassment and other forms of prohibited discrimination and recommending corrective or disciplinary action when appropriate; and
• Making referrals to other University departments for issues/concerns outside the scope of the Office's jurisdiction.
  

For information or assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Sam Starks, Executive Director
Patrice D. Miller, Associate Director
Ralph Delucia, Associate Director - Training
Kuan Evans, Staff Assistant

University of Pennsylvania
Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs
Sansom Place East, Suite 228
3600 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-6993 (voice)
(215) 898-7803 (TDD)