SUBJECT:

Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination

I am pleased to announce that the Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention and Policy has agreed to take on the role of a centralized bias reporting office, effective February 1, 2011. The new office, the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD), is intended to supplement existing systems to respond to complaints about bias, discrimination or harassment, to coordinate resources, and to provide a central point of contact for faculty, students or staff. It will be responsible for the following:

* Providing a place where any member of the University community can submit a complaint of alleged bias, harassment or discrimination;

* Working with complainants, either directly or by referring them to other UC San Diego offices, to resolve complaints informally; and

* Conducting fair and impartial formal investigations if informal resolution efforts are unsuccessful.

OPHD will continue to oversee UC San Diego’s responsibilities for addressing complaints of sexual harassment, and will also provide a place where students and faculty can bring alleged complaints of other types of discrimination or harassment. It will work collaboratively with Equal Opportunity/Staff Affirmative Action in responding to staff complaints of discrimination and in providing training on these important issues. OPHD will also work with the Intergroup Relations Program and many other UC San Diego offices that play important roles in addressing bias and discrimination.

You may contact OPHD at (858) 534-8298 or via email at ophd@ucsd.edu. You may also visit the website at http://ophd.ucsd.edu. OPHD will also host UC San Diego’s online bias reporting website, http://reportbias.ucsd.edu.

The University’s Nondiscrimination Policies represent a fundamental commitment to equal opportunity that the University must rigorously enforce. An office focused on resolving complaints of bias, harassment or discrimination will help us both fulfill our policy obligations and foster a safe, tolerant and respectful campus climate.

Marye Anne Fox Chancellor