III. The Faculty

H. Equal Opportunity, Nondiscrimination, and Sexual Harassment

1. The University's Nondiscrimination Policy The following statement of the University's policy on nondiscrimination is reprinted here for the information of members of the faculty:

STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY

Colgate University fully subscribes to all federal and state civil rights laws banning discrimination in private institutions of higher education. In the Affirmative Action Plan of Colgate University, published in 1974, the President of the University stated that, "It is the policy of Colgate University to treat all candidates for employment and all employees in a fair and equitable manner. Accordingly, it is the policy of the University to recruit, select, hire, train, compensate, promote, retain, transfer, terminate and distribute all benefits without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, or sex." Since 1974 federal or state law has added the following factors to those named above as unlawful bases for discrimination in matters of employment: age, marital status, disability, and arrest record, or, to the extent provided in Section 752 of the New York State Correction Law, conviction record.

The Board of Trustees has also approved the following policy statement:

All procedures and mechanisms to admit applicants to the student body of the College and to deal with them as students of the College shall be conducted and operated fairly and impartially without discrimination based upon race, color, national or ethnic origin, or handicap.

When the final implementing Regulation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 became effective in 1975, the President issued the following statement regarding Colgate's policy with respect to prohibiting sex discrimination in its educational programs;

It is the policy of Colgate University not to discriminate on the basis of sex in the educational programs and activities which it operates. Colgate University will comply with all applicable provisions of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and its implementing Regulation.

In accordance with the Title IX Regulation, the following officers have been designated to coordinate Colgate's efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX, alleging any actions which would be prohibited by Title IX: for students, the Director of Judicial Programs; for faculty members, the Director of Affirmative Action; and for nonacademic and administrative personnel, the Affirmative Action Coordinator for Administration and Staff.

Inquiries concerning this policy may be directed to the appropriate Colgate officer or to the Director, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Cohen Building, 330 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20201.

When the final regulations were issued for implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the President issued the following statement regarding Colgate's policy toward the handicapped:

It is the intention of Colgate University not to discriminate on the basis of handicap in its educational programs and activities. Colgate University fully intends to comply with all applicable provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The Associate Provost has been designated as the officer responsible for coordinating efforts to comply with this Act, including investigation of any complaint alleging noncompliance.

Colgate University reaffirms its commitment to promote the goals of fairness and equality in all aspects of the educational enterprise.

2. Sexual Harassment Both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Division of Human Rights regard sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination and, therefore, as an unlawful discriminatory practice. The E.E.O.C. offers the following guideline for defining "sexual harassment": "Harassment on the basis of sex is a violation of Section 70 of Title VII. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (a) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment."

At its faculty meeting held on December 1, 1986, the faculty passed a resolution supporting the Final Report of the Committee on Sexual Harassment. That report is now Colgate's policy on sexual harassment and is included in this document by reference. The complete report may be obtained upon request through any of the following offices: the Dean of the Faculty, the Dean of the College, the Human Resources Department, or any Department Office.

The final report states, in part:

Definition of Sexual Harassment Colgate University explicitly prohibits harassment of one member or group of the community by another member or group. Students, staff, administrators, and faculty are entitled to a professional working environment. Those in positions of responsibility must exercise a sensitivity that precludes abusive or unprofessional actions. In particular, faculty and supervisors must avoid relationships that can compromise their evaluations of students and supervisees. Discrimination, coercion, and harassment, especially sexual harassment, have no place in the University.

In discussing sexual harassment in the work-place the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission points out that "Harassment on the basis of sex is a violation of Section 703 of Title VII." The Commission then offers a definition of sexual harassment which has been widely accepted as a standard for determining whether an individual has been the subject of an unlawful employment practice. Colgate accepts the EEOC definition of sexual harassment, amended to address the special needs of an academic community which consists not only of employer and employees but of students as well. The amended definition is as follows:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical contact constitutes sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic status, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working, educational or social environment.

Faculty and administrators need to be especially sensitive to the power/authority relation in their interactions with students. Actions or remarks which emphasize the sexuality or sexual identity of a student can take on a proportion that they would not have in other contexts, one that could ultimately impair the student's access to the educational opportunities available at Colgate. Furthermore, amorous relations between teacher and student or between administrator and student are fundamentally asymmetrical and contradict both professional ethics and Colgate policy.

Procedure for Dealing with Complaints of Sexual Harassment at Colgate the vote of the faculty on December 1, 1986 also established a Sexual Harassment Panel.

The Sexual Harassment Panel members provide a confidential access point for individuals in the community who believe they have been sexually harassed, in addition to existing supervisors, deans, and counselors. The taking of a complaint to a member of the Sexual Harassment Panel is not required before filing a formal complaint nor does it preclude filing such a complaint.

The Sexual Harassment Panel will be composed of nine members appointed by the President to staggered two-year terms. The President shall select the Panel members for their sensitivity to the issues and their approachability by various campus populations.

The President will appoint a chair and at least two members from each of the following groups: students, administrators, faculty, and support staff. The Panel will include at least one tenured faculty member and will be appointed in the spring each year. Since the majority of sexual harassment incidents are directed toward women, it is recommended that at least half of the members of the Panel be women. The President should also pay close attention to representation from the minority community at Colgate.

Functions of Panel Members

a. Providing Advice and Information. Panel members will provide information about available procedures and their possible outcomes. It is at all times the complainant's decision whether and how to press a complaint. Any member of the Colgate community may talk with any member of the Panel about sexual harassment. Complainants may, if they wish, have a friend or adviser accompany them when they discuss a problem with a panel member. All contacts will be kept confidential.

b. Informal Mediation. Persons deciding to proceed to mediation will ask a Panel member to serve as mediator. The purpose of informal mediation should be the cessation of offensive behavior. In mediation, a Panel member will describe the complaint to the person against whom it is lodged and attempt to resolve the complaint informally. Mediation should be carried on in an educative mode, helping the person against whom the complaint is made to understand why the behavior in question is offensive and how it affected the complainant.

A person seeking mediation must agree to be identified to the person against whom the complaint is lodged. A Panel member who agrees to mediate shall begin mediation efforts promptly and shall report the results of mediation promptly to the complainant. If the mediator needs to consult any Panel member other than the Chair, such consultation should protect the identity of the principals involved.

c. Education of the Community. Panel members will try to be educative in response to all of their contacts as Panel members. In addition, they will advise on the education of the community as a whole in matters of sexual harassment.

d. Record Keeping and Annual Report. It shall be the duty of the Chair of the Sexual Harassment Panel to prepare an annual report and submit it to the President no later than the middle of September. This report shall have two parts: (1) an outline of the number and nature of contacts, i.e. requests for information, instances of informal mediation, complaints which have been pursued through a formal grievance procedure; (2) recommendations developed by the Panel pertaining to the Sexual Harassment Policy itself or any other relevant university policy.

No written record shall be kept of informal contacts or mediation activity except statistical records needed for the Panel's annual report to the President. Records kept for this purpose shall not mention the names of individuals or identifying details of the case.

e. Panel Meetings. The Panel shall meet as a whole at least once a semester to review the sexual harassment policy, to discuss the annual report and make recommendations to be included in that report, and to review the educational initiatives of the Panel. Individual cases will not be discussed at Panel meetings, and privacy and confidentiality will be respected at all times.

Formal Complaints At any time, for any level of complaint, a complainant may lodge a formal complaint through the appropriate formal channels whether or not the Panel has first been approached and whether or not mediation has been tried. The Panel does not handle formal complaints. Formal procedures against faculty are handled according to the nondiscrimination procedures described in Section 3 below, against secretarial, clerical, and technical staff according to the non-discrimination procedures described in the Employee Handbook, or against Buildings and Grounds employees according to the procedures described in the union contract. Complaints against administrators are handled by the President or designate. Complaints against students are handled according to procedures for dealing with sexual harassment outlined in the Student Handbook.

3. Nondiscrimination Grievance Procedure In keeping with its policy as stated in the previous section, Colgate University will provide a means to assure prompt due process to any employee who believes that the University's policy of nondiscrimination has been violated, or that he or she has been the victim of sexual harassment on the job, and to the person whose conduct is at issue. The following grievance procedure applies to all employees of the University, other than (a) those holding senior administrative positions and (b) those employed under a union contract which covers these areas. Any employee of Colgate, including a member of the faculty, who has a concern about sexual harassment on the job can seek advice and information from any member of the Sexual Harassment Panel (see previous section 2). The following grievance procedure, however, does not apply to matters of faculty promotion, tenure or third-year review, which are described previously in Chapter III, Section C.

Informal Review

It is expected that most complaints can be handled informally at the office level. If that is not possible, complaints should be made to the appropriate offices for affirmative action. The Affirmative Action Officer upon receiving a complaint will initiate an inquiry and make a preliminary determination as to whether the available evidence appears to support or not to support the complainant's charge. If the complaint appears to have merit the Officer will attempt to resolve it through informal mediation. In cases involving a complaint of sexual harassment, the employee may ask a member of the Sexual Harassment Panel to serve as mediator in the informal mediation (see previous section 2, Sexual Harassment, for a discussion of the role of the Panel in the review process).

Where, in the opinion of the Officer, the case lacks merit, the complainant will be so advised, but the complainant may nonetheless request a formal review by the Hearing Committee. If attempts at informal mediation fail when sufficient relevant information has been gathered, the Officer will prepare a written summary for the Nondiscrimination Hearing Committee. The complainant has the right to see this summary before it goes to the Committee. The Officer will convene the Hearing Committee as soon as possible.

Formal Review

The Nondiscrimination Hearing Committee will consist of six members: three elected members of the Committee on Faculty Affairs, chosen annually, and three members appointed by the Provost of the University (two from among the clerical, secretarial and technical staff, and one from the administrative staff). The Provost will make the appointments with the advice of the Affirmative Action Officer. The appointments will be for three years. The Hearing Committee will elect its own Chair.

The hearings will be conducted in private. Participants will include members of the Committee, the Affirmative Action Officer, the complainant and any respondents (or their representatives), as well as called witnesses. The complainant and the respondents shall exchange names of called witnesses two days prior to the hearing. All parties will have ample opportunity to present facts and arguments in full, and may invite other persons, including the Affirmative Action Officer, to testify. Formal rules of evidence will not apply; any evidence which the Committee believes is relevant may be admitted. The Committee may also exclude irrelevant or immaterial evidence. The Chair will rule on all matters of procedure and admissibility of evidence.

After hearing evidence and arguments, the Hearing Committee will forward to the Provost a written statement summarizing the evidence and presenting the Committee's findings and recommendations. (In case of a tie vote, the Committee will forward the reasons on both sides of the issue to the Provost. The Affirmative Action Officer will also forward his or her opinion.) Where issues of competency or performance are concerned, the Committee will not substitute its judgment of competency or performance for the judgment of appropriate officials. The function of the Hearing Committee is to determine whether those policies, processes, and criteria used in arriving at judgments of competency or performance were consistent with the University's commitment to nondiscrimination.

Role of the Provost

Within one week after receiving the report of the Committee, the Provost will formally notify the Committee, the Affirmative Action Officer, the parties to the grievance, and appropriate administrative and supervisory officers of his or her conclusions and specify what actions, if any, shall be taken. If his or her decision departs from the recommendations of the Hearing Committee, the Provost will provide a written explanation to the Affirmative Action Officer, the complainant, and the chair of the Committee. The final decision of the Provost is binding and shall not be subject to review under any other grievance procedure in force in the University.

4. Employment of Spouses and Other Relations Colgate does not discriminate on the basis of marital status. It will consider applications from spouses or other relatives of employees in terms of professional criteria. Colgate expects all individuals to remove themselves from functioning as either advocate or judge in employment matters whenever there is apparent conflict of interest. Employees should neither initiate nor participate in institutional decisions involving a direct benefit (initial appointment, retention, promotion, salary, leave of absence, etc.) to members of their immediate families or persons with whom they hold comparable relationships.

Colgate attempts to assist relatives of faculty and administrators in exploring opportunities for employment by making the resources of the Office of Career Planning available to them. The Office of the Dean of the Faculty also assists spouses and other members of the household seeking employment as college faculty by providing information about opportunities both at Colgate and at local area colleges.

5. Policies Concerning Pregnancy and Infant Care Leave Faculty-approved policies concerning Family and Medical Leave available to faculty members of either sex are contained in the section below on LEAVES OF ABSENCE (Section III.K.4).