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Title IX Update October 24, 2022

October 24, 2022

Dear Pitzer Campus Community,

I write today with an update on important work with regard to our Title IX office and related campus practices and protocols. This includes an update on the search for the professional staff in the office.

As you may remember, the Title IX Task Force, composed of faculty, staff, and students, was charged to review Pitzer’s Title IX processes and provide recommendations to the president. The complexity and the evolving nature of the Title IX regulation and discrimination and conduct policies (DHSM) require careful consideration, and I deeply appreciate the time and dedication of the Task Force and the many community members who participated in listening sessions.

Recommendations

The Task Force’s May 2022 update recommended a focus on three key areas:

Development of Pitzer-specific, trauma-informed well-being support for survivors and respondents
Prevention and education about sexual assault and misconduct for students and employees
TIX sexual assault and misconduct staff, policy, process, and coordination

The members of the Task Force, the Interim Title IX Coordinator Alyssa-Rae McGinn, and faculty members Sumangala Bhattacharya and Maya Federman have done considerable work in these three areas and provided specific recommendations within each.

Title IX Office Staffing
Pitzer initiated a search in the summer to replace our Coordinator when they left for another opportunity. Finding the very best person is our highest priority, and after consultations that included external advisors and many of the individuals on the Search Committee and the Title IX Task Force, we decided to retain a national recruiter to help relaunch the effort. We also determined, due to the competitive employment market and the importance of the position, that Pitzer is better served by modifying the position to “Senior Director of the Office of Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct and Title IX Coordination.”

We have asked the original Search Committee to continue to serve if available. We anticipate the Senior Director will be selected by January and start at Pitzer during the spring term. Until then, Alyssa-Rae McGinn will continue to serve as our Interim Title IX Coordinator.

Additionally, on the recommendation of the Task Force, the College has budgeted for a second position, to be hired by the new Senior Director should another role be necessary to fully support the community.

Prevention and Education
A subcommittee of the Task Force on Prevention and Education did considerable work to research and document best practices over the spring semester. A subset of that committee is partnering with Alyssa-Rae to continue to augment programming and improve materials and web content. Alyssa-Rae will be hosting a series of conversations and training for students, faculty, and staff later this month. Information is available on the Title IX website, and I hope you will attend a session to refresh your understanding of how to support our community and yourself.

More Next Steps

As we move forward in hiring staff and making continuous improvement to our support on campus, we will be implementing another recommendation of the Task Force: establishing a standing advisory committee. I look forward to that group as an ongoing committee which will support the communication and effectiveness of our Title IX Office over time.

It is my utmost priority as president to foster a safe and supportive community. I ask all of you to join me by participating in education and sharing concerns. I welcome you to contact me directly at [email protected]. We all need to be part of the solution to providing a safe and fair environment for our community to thrive in.

Provida Futuri,

Jill Klein P’15

Interim President

Title IX Task Force May 2022 Update

May 6, 2022

Since our last update on March 8th, the TIX Task Force has met four times as a full group, on March 11, April 1, April 22, and April 29. Additionally, a sub-group led by Jessica Chairez and Allegra Abbruzzese focused on education, training, and prevention has met weekly for the past month. We thank all the community members who have joined our meetings and subcommittee work, as we move forward on implementation while further identifying opportunities to improve.

Faculty members have come to our meetings to share their experiences of trying to support students and other community members reporting TIX incidents, harassment, or other forms of discrimination. Staff members closely involved in the Title IX process and student support also attended some of our meetings to share their experience in supporting students and employees. Student representatives from CSAP and advocates came to ask questions and share concerns. As a result, we received a more comprehensive understanding of how TIX impacts our community, which has shaped our planning and work. It was also evident that this community dialog will need to continue.

The challenges with the Title IX process are not simple to solve, and there is no single new position, policy, or specific practice that will create meaningful lasting change – this work will be ongoing. Over the past fifteen years, this work at the College has evolved considerably due to changing laws and new understandings of trauma, and, most recently, restorative justice approaches. At Pitzer, different committees have worked intensely over the years on these issues, but we continue to find systemic challenges to address, particularly in response to recent changes in law and policy. On the recommendation of several faculty members, it is evident that there will need to be a body that oversees Title IX and continues to do the work.

For now, the existing TIX Task Force will continue with its current membership into next academic year. The only possible change would be due to Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) determination of faculty service assignments. Over the summer, one of the student representatives will work part-time to continue participating in the training plan, to be ready for a pilot this next academic year. Below is an update on what has been done thus far and how we intend to continue.

As indicated in the previous update our work continues to be focused in three areas. The action steps and work in progress below support improvement in these three areas. This is not a complete list, as we expect to continue to work as a task force:

Development of Pitzer-specific trauma-informed well-being support for survivors and respondents.
Prevention and education about sexual assault and misconduct for students and employees
TIX sexual assault and misconduct staff, policy, process & coordination

Completed and currently ongoing items:

Development
Create expanded counseling hours for survivors and respondents through ARC Counseling & Wellness.
Providing financial support for survivors and respondents to obtain off-campus counseling and well-being resources.
Weekly updates are sent to key support staff on open TIX cases to encourage appropriate outreach to students.
Pitzer intervention team has been meeting regularly to assess ongoing cases and needs.
Alyssa-Rae and Tiombe Wallace have completed several training sessions for RA’s, Athletics, and other community members.
Corinne Vorenkamp remains as Title IX Coordinator.
Alyssa-Rae will stay on as a consultant and coordinator through the calendar year as needed for transition.
Task Force met with legal counsel to establish a greater understanding on TIX law and confidentiality constraints.

In-process and future items:

Working with task force and other advisors in creation of staff liaison position to provide additional communication on process and support TIX. Anticipating a staff search with committee participation to take place this summer with a desired start date for Fall semester.
Tiombe Wallace has been retained as a consultant and advisor in creation of our college-wide training and education plan.
Working on a faculty-led structure to review all TIX and dispute resolution policies and make them more cohesive, which will inform and implement our processes moving forward.
The subcommittee for prevention and education about sexual assault and misconduct for students and employees has met several times under the leadership of Jessica Chairez and Allegra Abbruzzese, and Elisa Alban is assisting on the project plan, timeline, and tracking.
Employee training and ongoing education is being coordinated by Marie Pinedo in Human Resources and is seeking partnership with Peace Over Violence and the Downtown Women’s Center for guidance on best practices.
Student training and education program is using an approach of providing the information more frequently and across the whole academic career. This is being created in partnership with student affairs.
Communications is partnering with the committee to create more simple process flows and materials to provide to students, as well as make improvements to the clarity and accessibility of information on the website.

In summary, the work of the first semester of the Title IX Task Force was intended to better identify the concerns and systemic shortfalls. We identified our three areas of focus, as noted above. We also began workstreams that we anticipate will significantly improve a shared understanding around Title IX, but also better support students directly impacted. The complexity of these matters makes this work challenging. But we remain committed to improving Title IX support and a trauma-informed response, while also building a stronger understanding in our community around limitations of the Title IX law and the need for a fair and just process for all individuals. Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Sincerely,

Sumangala and Laura

Title IX Task Force Update

January 20, 2022

Dear Pitzer Community,

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed a restful and restorative break. As we welcome our students back to campus and begin the academic term, I am writing to share important updates on Pitzer’s Title IX Task Force and other steps the leadership team is taking to bolster our efforts to provide Title IX support for our students, faculty, and the entire community.

I will be co-chairing the newly established Title IX Task Force with Sumangala Bhattacharya, Professor at Pitzer and Attorney at Law. I am grateful for Sumangala’s partnership as she has a history of experience in Title IX procedures at Pitzer and a legal background. Below is the membership of the task force, which is representative of faculty, staff, and students. I want to thank the Staff Council, FEC and Student Senate for their support in identifying members to serve on the task force. The task force members include:

Laura Troendle (she, her, hers), VP, Chief Operating Officer, and Treasurer, Co-Chair of TIX Task Force
Sumangala Bhattacharya (she, her, hers), Professor of English and World Literature, Co-Chair of TIX Task Force
Stephanie Hannant (she, her, hers), Assistant Dean of Students and Case Manager, Office of Student Affairs, Staff Representative
Jessica Chairez (she, her, hers), Assistant Director of Community Engagement, Community Engagement Center, Staff Representative
Anton Van Schaik (he, him, his), Pitzer junior, Resident Assistant, Student Representative
Allegra Abbruzzese (she, her, hers), Pitzer junior, PZ Advocate, Student Representative
Ruti Talmor (she, her, hers), Associate Professor of Media Studies, Faculty Representative
Ahmed Alwishah (he, him, his), Associate Professor of Philosophy, Faculty Representative
Maria Ramirez (she, her, hers), Executive Assistant to the COO and Treasurer, will handle the administration of our task force.

The Title IX Task Force will meet weekly and is charged with identifying ways to strengthen Pitzer’s approach to combatting sexual harassment and violence and presenting those recommendations to the President. Its tasks include:

Select an external consultant to provide an independent review of the Pitzer Title IX program and work with the task force in developing a set of clear recommendations to be presented to the President.
Identify and review best practices for training and awareness for our community, including for community members in positions that support students.
Identify ways to encourage reporting on incidents and ensure a trauma-informed best practice approach in the engagement of the Title IX Office with impacted parties for support during the process, investigations and during any meetings.
Recommend a process for ongoing program review.

Additional Updates:

Training: Alyssa-Rae McGinn has conducted trainings for new and returning Resident Assistants as well as new faculty members, which included an overview of the Title IX policy, the Title IX and non-Title IX processes, their role as Responsible Employees, and what to do and what not to do if someone reports potential sexual misconduct to them. Alyssa-Rae also trained new Pitzer students on Title IX policy, processes, reporting, and bystander intervention. Additionally, we are partnering with Tiombe Wallace to design a recommendation for a broader training plan for the campus.

Open “Office” Hours: We have implemented virtual office hours. Alyssa-Rae will be representing the Title IX Office in holding a weekly drop-in hour via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7390001011 on Tuesdays at 1-2 p.m. PT. Students, staff, and faculty are free to drop in during that virtual hour to ask questions, discuss concerns, or just get to know Alyssa-Rae. No appointments are needed, but to maintain privacy, only one Zoom entrant will be admitted at a time. However, if someone wants to attend with a support person, it’s fine to have that support person physically in the room with them or they can have that support person also join via Zoom. Please be aware that this is not a confidential reporting space, and Alyssa-Rae may need to document and/or take other actions in response to disclosures of potential policy violations. Alyssa-Rae is also available to meet outside these open office hours, and she can be reached at [email protected].

We look forward to sharing our progress. Please visit the Title IX Task Force web page at https://www.pitzer.edu/title-ix-task-force/ for information and updates. As a reminder, community resources are available here.

Best,

Laura Troendle

VP, Chief Operating Officer, Treasurer

President’s Statement on Title IX

December 6, 2021

Dear Pitzer Students, Faculty, Staff and Community,

I have, along with many in our community, been deeply pained by the hurt and outrage in the stories that have been shared over these past few days. I recognize the anguish that has led to the demands for immediate concrete actions. I want you to know how committed we are as an institution to making sure Pitzer is a safe, vibrant community in which all our students can thrive. We know we have work to do, and I am writing today to say that work has begun and will not end until we have achieved the institutional change required.

As announced in an earlier communication, we have appointed Alyssa-Rae McGinn of Dan Schorr, LLC to support Pitzer’s Title IX office. She is immediately available to address students’ concerns, and I encourage you to reach out to her directly. A link to her bio is here.

We also have taken the steps to start an internal investigation on the concerns brought forward impacting all parties involved, and as such, we will be establishing a Title IX Task Force with faculty, staff, and student representation. The task force will be charged with identifying an independent consultant to review Pitzer’s Title IX processes and provide a recommendation for moving forward. The work of this task force will be expedited and a high priority.

I want to reiterate my commitment as President that we will and must do the work ahead of us. I remain hopeful that as we have done in the past, we will pull together as a community to ensure Pitzer continues to live up to its core values and mission.

I encourage members of the student body, and faculty and staff who have been affected directly or indirectly by events over the past few days, to reach out for support and access the resources below. You are not alone, and the College is here to support you.

Provida Futuri,

Melvin L. Oliver

President

Confidential Resources for Students

Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services Crisis & Support 909-621-8202 (After Hours-Dial“1” to speak to a crisis counselor)
EmPOWER Center: In-person confidential support during office hours: call 909.607.2689 or email[email protected] to schedule
Office of the Chaplains: 909-621-8685
Queer Resource Center: 909-607-1817 ([email protected])
RAINN 800-656-4673
Pitzer Advocates ([email protected])
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline :800-273-8255
Warm-Line 855-845-7415
Trevor Lifeline: 866-488-7386
Students of Color Crisis Text Line: Text STEVE 741-741
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741-741
Trans Crisis Line: 1-877-565-8860

Additional Pitzer and Claremont Colleges Resources for Students

Pitzer Academic Support Services:

Stephanie Hannant, [email protected]
Gabriella Tempestoso, [email protected]

Pitzer Dean On-Call 24/7/365 909-607-2000
Chicano Latino Student Affairs (CLSA): 909-621-8044
Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA): 909-607-3669
Center for Asian Pacific American Students (CAPAS)
Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC): 909-607-7419
Pitzer College Transgender Student Support Resources

Resources for Faculty and Staff

Pitzer College Employee Assistance Program: www.liveandworkwell.com
Anthem Mental Health Resources: www.anthem.com/ca (available 24/7)
Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Resources: www.kp.org