The following email by UGA President Michael Adams about the recent sexual harassment allegations was sent out to all students, faculty, and staff this afternoon.

March 21, 2008

TO: UGA Faculty, Staff and Students

FROM: Michael F. Adams, President

RE: Update on Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment (NDAH) Policy

As discussion has continued on campus in the past weeks regarding incidents of alleged sexual harassment, I join many of you in being very disturbed by the details of a number of these incidents, both words and deeds. We all will defend free speech and academic freedom but must recognize that some speech, especially as it relates to sexual harassment, is illegal. Some other language, while not illegal, is unquestionably improper, unseemly and unwise. The University takes matters of discrimination and harassment seriously and will not tolerate violations of the NDAH policy, whether those be instances of sexual harassment–as have prompted this campus-wide conversation–or any other form of behavior prohibited by the policy.

The Office of Legal Affairs has been charged with stewarding this process since the NDAH policy was formalized by University Council in 1998. I am grateful to those in Legal Affairs for their service in what are often difficult, complex investigations and have confidence in their judgment. After careful consideration, I believe a renewed attention to this subject is in order at several levels of this institution.

To that end, I am taking the following steps:

• Investigation and enforcement of the policy will be moved from the Office of Legal Affairs to the Equal Opportunity Office (EOO), effective October 1, 2008. Because of the liability the university bears in such cases, such matters need to be the responsibility of someone who is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is appropriately trained. Until October 1st, such matters will continue to be managed by Ms. Beth Bailey in the Office of Legal Affairs.
• Before the end of the calendar year, every person in the senior administration as well as deans, associate deans, and department heads, will undergo NDAH training. As cases move through the NDAH investigative process, the appropriate vice president will now be involved to bring the full weight of the administration to bear on the investigation and the outcome of such cases.
• The University will appoint and train three ombudspersons to serve as contacts for students, faculty, and staff, to whom initial reports of alleged NDAH violations or questions regarding other concerns may be brought confidentially: an ombudsperson for students in the Division of Student Affairs; an ombudsperson for faculty in Academic Affairs; and an ombudsperson for staff in Human Resources. These individuals will help guide people through the sometimes confusing process of resolving conflicts or reporting violations at this large, complex research institution. The scope of work of these individuals, who will be trained in University, University System, state, and federal policies and procedures, will be to provide informal and confidential assistance to persons with issues or concerns, advising members of the community about where to turn and what procedures to follow should they wish to advance a complaint. The names, duties, and contact information for the ombudspersons will be posted online and discussed at appropriate information sessions during the course of the year with faculty, students, and staff.
• The University administration will work with University Council to update and revise the NDAH policy to reflect the above changes and to consider additional revisions as recommended.
• Education and communication about the NDAH policy will be improved for faculty, staff, students, and administrators, both in electronic and written form. Everyone on this campus needs to know what the policy covers and how to report alleged violations to the appropriate office. The policy will be made more readily accessible on the UGA website, and general education on the NDAH policy will be the responsibility of the EOO office in coordination with the University ombudspersons. A report on general education of the campus in this area will be provided annually to the Office of the President.
• Additional training will be provided to our current counseling staff to help them respond to incidents regarding discrimination or harassment.
• As an immediate resource for students, faculty, and staff, a compendium of available services for women will be placed on the University’s website to ensure that resources on issues pertaining to women are readily accessible, whether related to health, counseling, support, harassment, or other needs. Such an electronic resource will meet a number of the current needs for information sharing that have been brought to my attention. The call for a designated and staffed space for a women’s center to provide informational resources and support comes at a time when we have some significant budgetary challenges. I am committed to the well-being of the University community, and while I am not opposed to a women’s center being established on campus, additional financial resources for such a center will need to be considered in light of equally pressing needs in the areas of child care, psychological services, public safety, energy management and water conservation, and the primary and urgent need to maintain and improve competitive faculty salaries.

Per University policy, I cannot be personally involved in reviewing alleged violations of the NDAH policy as they proceed through the investigative process, as the Office of the President is the last line of appeal on campus in this and in other matters; my involvement or comment in initial investigations would undermine due process.

My own commitment to non-discrimination and anti-harassment is firm: as I said to University Council on February 7th, this community will not tolerate sexual harassment. Basic respect for one another is a thousand-year-old tenet of university communities. We will not condone illegal or inappropriate behavior which violates the NDAH policy and which damages the spirit of trust and collegiality which we all value.

I would ask the University community to join me in an effort to enhance equal and fair treatment of one another. Myriad interactions on this campus each day are managed appropriately and with full regard to a sense of campus community, but one inappropriate action is one too many. Mistreatment of one another, physically or verbally, should not and will not be tolerated.