Â鶹´«Ã½ÉçÇøÈë¿Ú

Dear Campus Community,

I am writing to affirm Â鶹´«Ã½ÉçÇøÈë¿Ú’s commitment to maintaining a learning, living, and working environment free from discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and sexual misconduct. It’s also an opportunity for me to update you on available resources and new initiatives under our Title IX and our Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation (DHR) programs.

Â鶹´«Ã½ÉçÇøÈë¿Ú’s approach to Title IX and DHR is that when we know something, we do something. We believe that we need to follow-up on information we receive whether it is a formal complaint or not. If you have experienced anything, witnessed anything or have questions, please reach out. We will respond, we will act and we will follow-up. 

To remind you of our collective responsibilities: 

• All employees (with few exceptions) are deemed “responsible employees” who must refer to the Title IX Coordinator all known instances of sexual misconduct of which they become aware.
• All matters reported to Title IX/DHR are assessed by trained professionals to ensure appropriate steps are taken to address prohibited conduct and prevent its recurrence.
• The university prohibits retaliation against students or employees who have reported incidents, opposed discrimination or sexual misconduct, or participated in an investigation. Any acts of retaliation should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator.
• We encourage prompt reporting of sexual misconduct to the Title IX office, but complaints can be forwarded at any time regardless of when the incident occurred.
• Federal law requires annual training for all faculty and staff on how to recognize sexual misconduct, report incidents to campus authorities, and prevent sexual misconduct from occurring in the first place. All  must complete the online Equity and Title IX training on an annual basis, and supervisors are required to complete the CSU Discrimination Harasmment Prevention Program training every two years.
• All students are required to complete Sexual Misconduct Prevention Training and  Sexual Misconduct Alcohol and Other Drugs Training on an annual basis.

As part of our ongoing continuous improvement efforts, Â鶹´«Ã½ÉçÇøÈë¿Ú has instituted a number of new activities this year to reinforce our efforts in Title IX/DHR understanding and compliance: 

• New Title IX Campaign (Fall 2021): Report, Respect, Reach Out
• MPP Title IX training (Created Fall 2021)
• Title IX website redesign 
• Office of Diversity Trainer hired to conduct DEI training/facilitation for students, faculty and staff that will begin in March 2022.

Furthermore, I have scheduled a Town Hall meeting on Title IX for all MPPs on February 11, 2022 to communicate and reinforce our roles and responsibilities.

As always, we have mental health and wellness resources available for community members who need them through our Student Health & Counseling Services and the Employee Assistance Program.  

I am grateful to everyone in our Â鶹´«Ã½ÉçÇøÈë¿Ú community for joining me in this collective commitment to ensuring that our university is a safe, supportive, respectful, and collegial environment where we all can thrive and do our best work each and every day. 

Very sincerely yours,

Cathy Sandeen
President

February 7, 2022