OF RECORD
Dear
Penn Faculty, Students and Staff:
The University
is committed to maintaining a productive, civil and respectful
learning, working and living environment for all faculty,
students, staff, and visitors. Trust and civility are cornerstones
of our community and, consistent with this, sexual harassment
will not be tolerated at Penn. As a premier educational institution
and employer, the University is committed to eradicating sexual
harassment and continues to undertake various efforts to address
this issue in our community. Some of these measures include:
Providing
Information, Counseling, and Support. The University resources
that offer information, counseling, and support about the University's
Sexual Harassment Policy are listed in the Policy reprinted
below. Deans, chairs, directors, administrative unit heads,
managers,and
supervisors should provide information to their respective faculty,
staff, and students about the policy.
Providing
Education and Training. Penn provides training and education
to students, faculty, and staff on sexual harassment issues.
Deans, department chairs, and heads of administrative units
are encouraged to discuss the policy and issues of sexual harassment
with faculty and staff and provide additional educational opportunities
as needed. Similarly, students should receive information about
sexual harassment from residential advisors and house deans.
The Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs,
the Division of Human Resources,
and the Penn Women's Center are some of the resources available
to provide training and education to the community.
Addressing
and Resolving Complaints. There are many informal and formal
mechanisms available to faculty, staff, and students to address
complaints of sexual harassment. All members of the Penn community
are encouraged to use the resources listed in the policy to
address allegations of sexual harassment. We take all allegations
of sexual harassment very seriously and will take appropriate
actions to address them.
Central
Reporting Form. To aid in the reporting of complaints, and
with the complainant's consent, all offices described in Sections
III.A. and III.B. of the policy should complete the Sexual Harassment
Policy Central Reporting Form and forward it to the Ombudsman's
office. Please see Section III.D. of the policy for further
details on the use of this
form.
Maintaining
our status as a premier research and educational institution and
an employer of choice depends on valuing the contributions
and diversity
of all members of our Penn family. We encourage all members of
our community to increase their understanding and awareness of
issues of sexual harassment and continue to undertake efforts
to strengthen civility and respect for all members of our community.
--Judith
Rodin, President
--Robert
L. Barchi, Provost
--John
A. Fry, Executive Vice President
Sexual
Harassment Policy
I. Conduct
Our
community depends on trust and civility. A willingness to recognize
the dignity and worth of each person at the University is essential
to our mission.
It
is the responsibility of each person on campus to respect the
personal dignity of others. We expect members of our University
community to demonstrate a basic generosity of spirit that precludes
expressions of bigotry.
Penn
properly celebrates the diversity of its community. We come to
Penn from many different backgrounds and include different races,
religions, sexual orientations, and ethnic ancestries. Learning
to understand the differences among us, as well as the similarities,
is an important dimension of education, one that continues for
a lifetime. Tolerance alone, however, is not enough. Respect and
understanding also are needed. We should delight in our differences,
and should seek to appreciate the richness and personal growth
which our diversity provides to us as members of this community.
The
University is committed to freedom of thought, discourse and speech,
and the attainment of the highest quality of academic and educational
pursuits and daily work. Policies and regulations implementing
this commitment include the Statement on Academic Freedom and
Responsibility, the Guidelines on Open Expression, and the Code
of Academic Integrity.
The
University also has established policies on behaviors that interfere
with these freedoms. Foremost among these policies is the University's
Statement on Non-Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination
on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion,
national or ethnic origin, handicap or disability.
The
University also has adopted the following policy concerning sexual
harassment. The terms "harassment " and "sexual
harassment" as used throughout, are defined as a matter of
University policy, and are not necessarily identical or limited
to the uses of that term in external sources, including governmental
guidelines or regulations.
II. Purposes
and Definitions
A. Purpose
For
many years the University has stressed that sexual harassment
is not tolerated at Penn. As an employer and as an educational
institution, the University is committed to eradicating sexual
harassment.
Sexual
harassment in any context is reprehensible and is a matter of
particular
concern to an academic community in which students, faculty, and
staff must rely on strong bonds of intellectual trust and dependence.
B. Definition
For
the purposes of University policy, the term "sexual harassment"
refers to any unwanted sexual attention that:
1. Involves
a stated or implicit threat to the victim's academic or employment
status;
2. Has
the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual's academic
or work performance; and/or,
3. Creates
an intimidating or offensive academic, living, or work environment.
The
University regards such behavior, whether verbal or physical,
as a violation of the standards of conduct required of all persons
associated with the institution. Accordingly, those inflicting
such behavior on others are subject to the full range of internal
institutional disciplinary actions, including separation from
the University. Likewise, acts of retaliation will be subject
to the same range of disciplinary actions.
As
noted in the Handbook for Faculty and Academic Administrators,
Policies and Procedures, the Academic Bulletin, and
other University publications, persons engaged in such harassment
within the University setting are subject to the full range of
internal institutional disciplinary actions, including separation
from the institution.
Not
every act that might be offensive to an individual or a group
necessarily will be considered as harassment and/or a violation
of the University's standard of conduct. In determining whether
an act constitutes harassment, the totality of the circumstances
that pertain to any given incident in its context must be carefully
reviewed and due consideration must be given to the protection
of individual rights, freedom of speech, academic freedom and
advocacy.
III. Resources
School
and administrative units should make known to all of their members
the available resources and the informal and formal procedures
for resolving complaints of sexual harassment within the unit
or at the University level. These resources include the following:
A. Information, Counseling,
and Support
The
following University resources are available to members of the
University community who seek information and counseling about
University policies on sexual harassment, standards of behavior,
informal and formal mechanisms for resolving complaints and resources
for complainants and respondents.
Deans
and directors may also make referrals to these resource offices:
B. Informal Mechanisms
for Mediation and Resolution
The
Ombudsman, the Office of Affirmative Action, the Penn Women's
Center, all other offices named as resource offices in this policy,
the Office of Student Conduct, the Office of Residential Living,
department chairs, deans and administrative directors, the provost,
and the senior vice president are available to assist in the informal
resolution of complaints.
C. Formal Mechanisms for
Resolution and Adjudication
When
informal resolution is not chosen or is unsatisfactory, complainants
are urged to use appropriate formal mechanisms described below:
1. Complaints
of sexual harassment against a faculty member, instructor, or
teaching assistant may be brought by a student, staff, or faculty
member to the department chair or dean of the faculty member.
The department chair or dean who receives a complaint is then
charged with pursuing the matter. While the process depends on
the particulars of the complaint, normally the department chair
or dean interviews the faculty member. If the matter is not resolved
informally, the department chair or dean either conducts an investigation
or requests that the Ombudsman, the Office of Affirmative Action,
the Office of Staff Relations, or the Office of Labor Relations
do so. If the results of the investigation persuade the dean or
department chair that sanctions are warranted, he/she consults
with faculty members--without disclosing the identity of the individuals
involved--to aid in determining an appropriate sanction, including
whether there is substantial reason to believe that just cause
exists for suspension or termination. If it is determined that
action should be taken to suspend or terminate, the dean should
refer the matter to the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility
of the school in accordance with the procedures set out in section
II. E.10 of the Handbook for Faculty and Academic Administrators
(1989).
2. Complaints
of sexual harassment against a staff member may be brought by
a student, staff member or faculty member to the supervisor of
the person complained against. The supervisor who receives the
complaint is then charged with pursuing the matter. While the
process will depend on the particulars of the complaint, normally
the supervisor interviews the staff member. If the matter is not
resolved informally, the supervisor either conducts an investigation
or requests that the Ombudsman, the Office of Affirmative Action,
the Office of Staff Relations, or the Office of Labor Relations
do so. If the result of the investigation persuades the supervisor
that sanctions are warranted, he or she consults with his or her
colleagues or supervisor--without disclosing the identity of the
individual(s) involved to aid in determining an appropriate sanction.
A staff member who believes that his or her rights have been violated
directly by another staff member or administrator may file a grievance
by contacting the Office of Staff Relations within the Office
of Human Resources under the University of Pennsylvania Staff
Grievance Procedure.
3. Complaints
by students of sexual harassment may be made to the Office of
the Vice Provost for University Life. Grievances associated with
sexual harassment in student employment may also fall within the
purview of the Vice Provost for University Life.
4. A
complaint of sexual harassment may be brought against a student
by filing a complaint under the Charter of the University Student
Judicial System, or, if the respondent is a graduate or professional
student enrolled in a school which has established a hearing board
or other decision-making body, with that body.
5. A
tenured or untenured faculty member, whether full or part time,
who believes she or he has been subjected to sexual harassment
by a faculty member or by an academic administrator may file a
grievance under the Faculty Grievance Procedure, Handbook for
Faculty and Academic Administrators (1989), part II E. 15,
provided the complaint constitutes a grievance as defined in Section
I of the Procedure. This procedure is administered by the Faculty
Grievance Commission. The panel makes its recommendations to the
provost. In cases that involve reappointment, promotion or tenure,
and in which the provost has declined or failed to implement the
recommendations of the panel to the satisfaction of the grievant,
the grievant may obtain a hearing before the Senate Committee
on Academic Freedom and Responsibility on the actions of the provost.
6. If
the matter has not previously been referred to a different panel
or committee, a student or staff member who believes that she
or he has been subjected to sexual harassment by a faculty member,
and whose complaint has not been resolved through the mechanisms
listed above, may bring the matter to the Faculty Senate Committee
on Conduct.This committee is a standing committee of the Faculty
Senate. At meetings with the Committee, the student or staff member
may be accompanied by an advisor who is a member of the University
community (student, faculty or staff). The findings and recommendations
of the Committee shall be advisory and shall be submitted to the
provost for her or his decision and implementation.
D. Central Reporting of
Sexual Harassment
1. A
decentralized system of resources encourages the reporting and
resolution of complaints of sexual harassment. To that end, and
with the consent of the complainant, those offices described in
Sections III.A and III.B of this policy that have handled through
mediation or counseling a complaint that was not submitted to
a formal hearing board should forward to the Ombudsman a report
(click
here to print the form) of the matter as soon as it is
received. Such reports should not include the names of the persons
involved. They should include, however, a description of the complaint,
the schools or administrative units with which the complainant
and respondent are affiliated, and the disposition of the complaint.
In the case of a large department in a large school, the department
also should be identified. Reports from decentralized areas will
enable the Ombudsman to identify patterns in a particular location
and the frequency of such incidents in a given area. Such information
can then be transmitted to the appropriate dean or administrative
supervisor. The reports will also enable the Ombudsman to act
on behalf of the community and to conduct whatever investigation
he or she deems necessary to determine whether University regulations
are being violated.
2. Summary
reports of formal charges of sexual harassment that have been
adjudicated and records of their disposition should be forwarded
to the Ombudsman's Office as a matter of information by the resource
offices named in this policy.
3. Based
on the information forwarded to her or him during the previous
year, the Ombudsman shall submit to the president on an annual
basis a summary report of the number and type of formal and informal
charges of sexual harassment and their resolution by September
15 of the academic year. This report will be shared with the University
community early in the semester.
E. Education and Prevention
The
prevention of sexual harassment and the establishment of effective
procedures with due concern for all parties require a thoughtful
educational program.
1. University
resource offices will provide to the community information on:
(a) available mediation and resolution resources; and (b) sources
of support and information for victims and respondents.
2. Deans
and heads of major administrative units are encouraged to discuss
this policy and issues of sexual harassment at meetings of faculty
and staff.
3. Training
programs for residential advisors, senior administrative fellows,
those who meet students in crisis situations and others serving
in an advisory capacity to students will include training about
referrals, resources, and methods for handling instances of sexual
harassment.
4. An
overall educational program for students that addresses issues
of peer sexual harassment and also provides information, definition,
support, and the identification of sexual harassment resources
has been developed by the Office of the Vice Provost for University
Life, the Office of Affirmative Action, and the Penn Women's Center
in conjunction with the Office of Residential Living, the Council
of College House Masters, and the Council of Senior Faculty Residents
involved with the Freshman Year Program. Such an educational program
is directed toward new undergraduate and graduate and professional
students.
5. The
University will publish annually the operative portions of this
policy statement, including information about the resources available
to advise, counsel, and assist in the mediation of sexual harassment
allegations. Information will explain how and where to contact
University-wide and school-specific resources and will be posted
in conspicuous locations. All members of the University should
feel a responsibility to try to prevent sexual harassment whenever
they observe it. Community members should report sexual harassment
to appropriate University resources promptly for appropriate action.
F. Exit Interviews
Deans
and administrative directors will periodically survey departing
students, faculty and staff to measure the existence and frequency
of reports of sexual harassment. Based on the data yielded by
these surveys and the annual reports of the Ombudsman, the University
administration will determine, in consultation with the University
Council, whether there is a need for further efforts to be taken
on the issue of sexual harassment.
G. Implementation
Deans
and administrative directors will be responsible for the implementation
of this policy. The provost and senior vice president will oversee
the performance of deans and directors in the implementation of
this policy.