OF RECORD Sexual Harassment Policy, University of Pennsylvania 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 printed 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. 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.
| BACK to TOP | CONDUCT | PURPOSE & DEFINITIONS | RESOURCES | INFO | INFORMAL RESOLUTION | FORMAL RESOLUTION | EDUCATION & PREVENTION | EXIT INTERVIEWS | IMPLEMENTATION | Sexual Harassment PolicyI. ConductOur 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. | BACK to TOP | CONDUCT | PURPOSE & DEFINITIONS | RESOURCES | INFO | INFORMAL RESOLUTION | FORMAL RESOLUTION | EDUCATION & PREVENTION | EXIT INTERVIEWS | IMPLEMENTATION | II. Purposes and DefinitionsA. PurposeFor 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. DefinitionFor the purposes of University policy, the term "sexual harassment" refers to any unwanted sexual attention that:
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. | BACK to TOP | CONDUCT | PURPOSE & DEFINITIONS | RESOURCES | INFO | INFORMAL RESOLUTION | FORMAL RESOLUTION | EDUCATION & PREVENTION | EXIT INTERVIEWS | IMPLEMENTATION | III. ResourcesSchool 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 SupportThe 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 ResolutionThe 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 AdjudicationWhen informal resolution is not chosen or is unsatisfactory, complainants are urged to use appropriate formal mechanisms described below:
D. Central Reporting of Sexual Harassment
E. Education and PreventionThe prevention of sexual harassment and the establishment of effective procedures with due concern for all parties require a thoughtful educational program.
F. Exit InterviewsDeans 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. ImplementationDeans 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. | BACK to TOP | CONDUCT | PURPOSE & DEFINITIONS | RESOURCES | INFO | INFORMAL RESOLUTION | FORMAL RESOLUTION | EDUCATION & PREVENTION | EXIT INTERVIEWS | IMPLEMENTATION | Almanac, Vol. 46, No. 5, September 28, 1999
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