The University of Pennsylvania has launched the Center for Civil Rights, a new centralized entity for investigating issues of discrimination and harassment.
The center will unite three existing offices at Penn: the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, the Office of the Associate Vice President for Equity & Title IX Officer, and the Office of Religious and Ethnic Interests (Title VI). It is designed to give students, faculty, and staff a single point of contact, strengthen the university’s education and prevention efforts, and streamline reporting processes.
“This consolidated Center for Civil Rights will help Penn work better for every member of our community,” says J. Larry Jameson, president of the University of Pennsylvania. “Faculty, staff, and students will benefit from greater clarity around resources, reporting, prevention, and legal compliance, with our subject-matter experts aligned and working together. I am grateful to them and our community leaders as Penn undertakes this latest self-improvement.”
Going forward, the center will have three subject-matter areas of responsibility, each led by an executive director and guided by the supporting pillars of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as other federal, state, and local civil rights laws and policies. The equal opportunity area will address matters of employment discrimination, while the sex and gender-based discrimination and harassment area will address issues relating to Title IX. The third area, religious and ethnic interests, will focus on harassment and discrimination based on religion and national origin, including shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, citizenship, and religious accommodations and related protections under Title VI.
