Dear Members of the University Community,

We write today to share the report we commissioned from the Committee on Faculty Sexual Misconduct. You can access the report here.

We want to thank the committee members for working diligently and tirelessly to produce this comprehensive set of recommendations for changes to our policies, processes and practices regulating harassment and misconduct.

Our goal is to build a campus climate that is intolerant of sexual harassment and that empowers every member of our university community in their pursuit of their careers, lives and educations.

The proposals contained in the report are designed to increase the transparency of our processes and allow us to respond to sexual misconduct more expeditiously. These recommendations also suggest broader tools – including sanctions and other responsive measures – to address sexual misconduct.

Committee members had diverse backgrounds and competing perspectives. They were encouraged to represent these perspectives vigorously but to search for creative solutions that could garner unanimous consensus. The Committee reached out to other stakeholders for input when special expertise or representation was needed.

Groups they consulted include the Exploratory Group on Campus Culture, Climate, and Sexual Misconduct, the Committee on Faculty-Student Consensual Relations and the Committee on Graduate Student Mentoring. Throughout the process, the Committee stayed in close contact with the University of Illinois System Task Force on Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response to ensure coordination of their efforts.

We are committed to working with Senate leadership and campus stakeholders to begin the process of refining and implementing the recommendations. We will work with the System-wide Task Force in that process so as to ensure consistency, where appropriate, across the three University of Illinois System universities. We are beginning to schedule conversations with key stakeholder groups across our university, and we will follow the appropriate process and procedures to make these policy changes.

We have the responsibility to be leaders in higher education and to create a framework that leads to a cultural change where policies and processes to address misconduct align with the values of respect and safety we all hold.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor

Andreas C. Cangellaris
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost

   
     
   
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