University officials are responding to allegations of discrimination and retaliation.
Last week, two professors, a staff member and a former campus police officer came forward about allegations of discrimination and retaliation.
Joey Croslin, vice president for human resources, said university policy prohibits her from commenting on any personnel matters, but the university does take any report seriously.
“The university prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and we want an environment that is free from all of those things,” Croslin said.
Dr. George Sims, interim provost, said after experiencing policies and procedures at other universities, he can see that OCU officials work diligently to make sure students, faculty and staff are aware of the channels for submitting reports.
“This is the fifth campus I’ve served on, and this campus does more proactively to make the policies and procedures available to everybody and make reporting possible than any other place I’ve been,” Sims said.
Sims said the fact that people are submitting reports shows the process is doing what it was intended to do.
“There is always a tendency of me to want to be the superhero and straighten it all out, but experience has shown that by trusting the process you get to a better understanding of the situation,” Sims said.
Sims said officials are willing to help anyone who needs assistance in submitting a grievance or filing a report.
“As long as we continue to appoint human beings as faculty members and have human beings as students, we’re going to have, from time to time, issues,” he said. “What we’re going for is the policy and procedures that enable us to resolve those issues one at a time in a way that protects all those human beings.”
Croslin said she hopes to see a way to report bias on campus implemented to further conversations and training regarding instances of bias.
“That’s an opportunity for people to be heard and for other people to understand how they may have hurt or offended someone that doesn’t necessarily rise to the level of discrimination or harassment or retaliation or a policy violation, but it’s still behavior that doesn’t align with our core values of diversity and inclusion,” she said.
Croslin said freshman students are taught how to submit reports to Human Resources, new employees go through training and current employees receive ongoing training.
“We’re always in a mindset of continuous improvement,” Croslin said.
According to the university’s nondiscrimination and equity resolution process, each party involved in a report is granted the right to investigation and appropriate resolution of all credible reports.
Croslin said although not all investigations will end in the outcome a party might want, the HR staff is well-trained and looks into every report thoroughly.
“We’re committed to diversity and inclusion. We’re committed to eliminating discrimination and harassment,” Sims said. “And we’re always in a learning process of what more needs to be done to achieve that goal.”
Leslie Berger, senior director of university communication, said in an email to Student Publications that the university’s core values, which were shaped by student, faculty, staff, trustee and alumni input, focus on inclusion.
“Our core values are integrity, respect, diversity and inclusion, and collaboration,” she said.
Taylor Downey, youth ministry junior and Title IX program coordinator, said if students, faculty or staff have concerns related to discrimination, they can reach out to Kristi Pendleton, the Civil Rights Investigator.
“She is able to look into a more broad spectrum of discrimination cases as well as Title IX,” Downey said. “I always encourage anyone who isn’t sure how to proceed in an incident, whether it would fall under the Title IX or civil rights umbrella, to reach out to her and see what she suggests.”
In an email to Student Publications, Dr. Amy Cataldi, dean of Petree College of Arts & Sciences and interim assistant provost, said the campus is dedicated to inclusion.
“What I can say about the university campus, in my experience, is that the people here–students, faculty, staff, and administration–are focused on and committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion at OCU,” Cataldi said.
Cataldi said the most recent example of the community’s dedication to equity is the creation of the position of vice president of diversity and inclusion.
“At every candidate meeting I was in, VPs or Deans asked about each of the following: what are your experiences/ideas/best practices for promoting to and hiring of diverse faculty candidates; how can we bring alumni even if they are disengaged back into the fold; what can we do to make prospective students and their families see this is a campus that welcomes, educates, and values everyone; what kind of outreach, engagement, and programming can help our OCU community become more culturally aware, informed, and respectful.”
A complete list of the university’s policies and information on how to submit a report is available at okcu.edu/admin/hr/policies/. The campus conduct hotline, for reporting any conduct-related issues, is 1-866-943-5787.
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