GW Establishes New Office of Equal Opportunity

The George Washington University has established a new Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), another step in its efforts to strengthen how GW responds to allegations of harassment, bias and discrimination.

Beginning May 1, the office will assume responsibility for oversight of the university's civil rights compliance responsibilities under federal and local laws, including Titles VI, VII, IX, the ADA/Section 504, and the DC Human Rights Act. OEO will be responsible for managing the response to all discrimination, bias and harassment complaints, regardless of the roles in our community of the person making a complaint or responding to it.

Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs John Lach and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Scott Mory announced the creation of the office in a message to the GW community on Thursday.

OEO will be composed of the Title IX Office, portions of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Access Office in HR, and the Office of Access and Opportunity. It will be led by Asha Reynolds, who is assuming the new role of Associate Vice President for Equal Opportunity (EO Coordinator; Title IX & Title VI), and Jessica Tischler, who is assuming the new role of Assistant Vice President for Equal Opportunity and Compliance (Deputy EO Coordinator). The new OEO will include all staff in the former Title IX Office and staff from the Equal Employment and Access Office whose roles are being encompassed in OEO. Reynolds will report to Mory.

"OEO is designed to enhance GW's response to complaints of discrimination, bias and harassment by centralizing the various streams for such complaints, which are currently handled by several different offices," Lach and Mory wrote in the message. "This creates confusion about where community members should direct their complaints and complicates the handling of intersectional complaints. By centralizing complaint management, OEO will consistently and equitably apply GW policies regardless of the role of those involved, improve the handling of intersectional complaints, and streamline case management. In addition, OEO will maintain a focus on supporting impacted parties and sponsor robust training and education programs."

While the new office centralizes resources, there are no changes to current policies or procedures, and matters that are currently pending will continue to be handled under existing policies and processes. The university will begin to review policies and procedures in accordance with the University Policy Review Process and will communicate updates as they are available.

In addition to the OEO announcement, Lach and Mory also shared that the Office of Disability Support Services, which provides reasonable and appropriate academic accommodations to students with disabilities in order to provide equal access to GW's academic programs, will continue to be led by Executive Director Rochelle Mills-Garcia, who will now report to Deputy Provost Terry Murphy.

About the new Office of Equal Opportunity

The new Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) is designed to enhance GW's response to complaints of discrimination and harassment.

The intended benefits of OEO are:

• Commitment to support: the focus on centralized supportive measures demonstrates a commitment to supporting community members through complex, sensitive issues.
• Consistent application of policies and processes: a single office treats all community members regardless of role equitably.
• Streamlined case management: standardized protocols for managing cases allows for better and more streamlined data tracking and trend analysis.
• Enhanced internal resource allocation: a single office maximizes the use of personnel and training resources by cross-training staff and reducing costs to external firms.
• Improved handling of intersectional complaints: a single office eliminates the need to resolve a single complaint between different units and reduces confusion about how complaints are managed.
• Robust training, education and communication: a single office can build understanding, trust and transparency within the community.

OEO's responsibilities include:

• Compliance Oversight: OEO will have oversight of the university's civil rights compliance responsibilities under federal and local laws, including Title VI, VII, IX, the ADA/Section 504, and the DC Human Rights Act.
• Policy Oversight & Execution: OEO will oversee GW's EO Policy, Title IX Policy, & Prohibited Relationships with Students Policy.
• Initial Assessment/Academic Freedom Review: Each complaint will be reviewed initially to determine whether, if true, the conduct would violate university policy under OEO oversight. The review will include an academic freedom assessment - any complaint against a faculty member related to their research and/or teaching will be brought to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs for assessment related to academic freedom.
• Complaint Response and Investigations: OEO will respond to all discrimination and harassment complaints, including Title IX, in accordance with applicable procedures. When OEO conducts an investigative resolution to determine whether a violation occurred under the Equal Opportunity Policy, OEO's determination will be forwarded to either the Office for Faculty Affairs, the Division for Student Affairs, or Human Resource Management and Development, depending on the role of the responsible party, for corrective action and next steps, as appropriate. In Title IX matters, after an investigation, a hearing will be conducted pursuant to the procedures outlined in the Title IX Policy.
• Impacted Party Support: OEO will provide supportive measures for impacted parties to restore or preserve access to education programs, activities, or employment.

Compliance Training and Education - OEO will provide policy and process training, to include prevention education and Title IX training on consent, healthy relationships, and bystander intervention.