Campus & Community
Harvard consolidates resources to combat bias and harassment
Peggy Newell (left) and Nicole Merhill.
Harvard file photos
Office for Community Support, Non-Discrimination, Rights and Responsibilities addresses bias, bullying, sexual harassment, and other misconduct
On Monday, Harvard declared the formation of the newly established Office for Community Support, Non-Discrimination, Rights and Responsibilities (CSNDR), a decision that consolidates resources, assistance, and policy enforcement that were previously managed by the Office for Community Conduct (OCC) and the Office for Gender Equity (OGE).
Nicole Merhill, the head of CSNDR and the University’s Title IX coordinator, along with Peggy Newell, vice president and deputy to the president, discussed with the Gazette the newly organized resources and assistance available to all community members, the laws and policies upheld by the new office, and the collective responsibility to foster a safer and more inclusive environment.
What is the purpose of the Office for Community Support, Non-Discrimination, Rights and Responsibilities (CSNDR)?
Newell: This new office consolidates significant efforts occurring under the Office for Community Conduct and the Office for Gender Equity, continuing this work in a single location. This aims to make it simpler for community members to understand what resources and assistance are accessible and where they should go to obtain them.
Merhill: Operating under the newly created CSNDR umbrella, we will have further coordinated these resources and supports — including the confidential SHARE team, the prevention team, and the NDAB [Non-Discrimination and Anti-Bullying] and Title IX compliance team. Both the prevention and compliance teams have broadened their responsibilities to address Title IX, other forms of sexual misconduct, non-discrimination, and anti-bullying. The SHARE team remains committed to assisting community members who may have encountered sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, abusive relationships, or discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.
The CSNDR office is dedicated to offering easily accessible information related to discrimination, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, sexual harassment, other types of sexual misconduct, and bullying, all grounded in a commitment to ensuring that every member of our community has the opportunity to learn, research, and work in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, and various forms of harm. Prior to this merger, OCC focused on managing the University’s policies and procedures for non-discrimination and anti-bullying, while the Title IX team from OGE concentrated on enforcing the University’s policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct.
Newell: Nicole joined Harvard from the federal agency that oversees both Title IX and Title VI, as well as various other federal civil rights laws. Over her nearly ten years as the director of OGE and the University Title IX coordinator, she has built strong relationships across Harvard’s Schools and within our community. We are fortunate to have her — a civil rights attorney who understands both the requirements of these regulations and how to navigate Harvard systems to broaden access to support — leading this new CSNDR office.
What prompted the merger of OCC and OGE?
Newell: We believe that the new structure will enhance access to resources and supports available to community members and clarify the expectations laid out in our policies, as well as our capacity to appropriately respond to policy violations when they arise.
Merhill: Indeed, OCC and the Title IX team within OGE had similar missions — to provide information regarding their respective policies and procedures, assist community members concerning those policies, review concerns related to those policies including assessing systemic impact, and manage formal complaints, informal resolutions, appeals, and hearings under these policies.
Newell: We recognized that our community found it confusing with different offices addressing concerns related to discrimination. Now, the NDAB and Title IX compliance team within CSNDR can assist individuals in addressing issues of discrimination, bullying, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual misconduct, which is more convenient and efficient, and responsive to the feedback we received from community members. Additionally, many of the School-based staff who function as local designated resources for non-discrimination and anti-bullying also act as local Title IX resource coordinators. Considering all these factors, merging OCC and the Title IX team from OGE into a single compliance team under CSNDR is a more effective way to serve our community.
What can community members anticipate from this change?
Merhill:“`html
All prior resources, including the commendable efforts of the prevention team and our confidential SHARE team, will persist.
The mission of the prevention team will broaden to explore ways to enhance capacity within our community to tackle various forms of harm broadly, whether related to discrimination based on a protected class, sexual harassment, or bullying. This aligns well, as our prevention team frequently leads bystander training and is asked to integrate discussions of race-based or other protected class discrimination.
The invaluable SHARE team remains committed to offering both individual and community-level assistance to those who may have faced sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, abusive relationships, or discrimination due to gender or sexual orientation. Furthermore, the SHARE team will maintain its provision of confidential accountability support for individuals and communities that may have inflicted harm. These essential support resources remain unchanged.
The new NDAB and Title IX compliance team enables us to operate more effectively by addressing policy-related matters in a single environment, under the University’s regulations concerning non-discrimination, anti-bullying, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual misconduct, without the potential obstacle of separate or duplicated outreach and engagement that could arise in the previous framework.
Alongside consolidating existing personnel from OCC and the Title IX team within OGE, we have hired a new staff member over the summer who acts as the University’s Title VI coordinator and deputy for compliance. Additionally, we are in the process of employing two more staff members — a deputy for Title VI and Title IX compliance, who will assist our network of local Title IX resource coordinators and local designated resources and facilitate informal resolutions, and a deputy Title VI coordinator and case manager, who will provide guidance on discrimination complaints, including all instances of antisemitism. Each of these positions will contribute further support and expertise to the NDAB and Title IX compliance team.
You mentioned that you enhanced the resources in the compliance team. Could you elaborate on those modifications?
Merhill: Regarding compliance, as I noted earlier, we filled a new position over the summer: the Title VI coordinator and compliance secretary, who oversees the formal complaint aspect of our work and has already started collaborating with our Schools and community members on these issues. Our latest staff member has substantial experience tackling Title VI and Title IX discrimination concerns at the federal level, including the investigation and resolution of sexual harassment, racial harassment, and discrimination based on shared ancestry, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other types of harm.
When we evaluated the requirements of the new NDAB and Title IX compliance team, we also received feedback from the community expressing a desire for a quicker process in reviewing and responding to complaints. In response to this, we established and are actively seeking candidates for two new positions to provide further support for the community and enhance those processes: a deputy for Title VI and Title IX compliance and a deputy Title VI coordinator and case manager.
CSNDR is tasked with delivering essential training on non-discrimination, sexual harassment, and other misconduct. Do you expect any adjustments to the training provided by the University?
Merhill: Today, we launched an eLearning module for all incoming and returning students across the University. Completion of this course is mandatory for enrollment in courses at Harvard.
On Sept. 8, the module will also be assigned to all staff, faculty, and postdoctoral fellows. While this module will be quite similar to the one provided to students, it will incorporate specific information for faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows regarding their role as “responsible employees” within the University’s Title IX and other sexual misconduct policies.
The course will take about an hour to complete.
Newell: We truly appreciate our community members dedicating their time, and we welcome all feedback as this is our initial iteration where we merge non-discrimination and harassment, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual misconduct into one module.
Merhill: It’s an hour dedicated to matters that are immensely important for all of us to acknowledge, comprehend, and actively address. The module provides details on our community expectations as illustrated in our policies, our individual responsibilities in meeting these expectations, the University’s obligations, and the resources available should someone encounter any of these issues.
Where can Harvard community members find more information about the resources CSNDR offers?
Merhill: Besides the information included in the eLearning initiative, we launched a new website at csndr.harvard.edu today. We encourage everyone to explore the website and share their feedback. The website is organized according to the services and resources of each team, and you are invited to visit each team to learn more about their initiatives in those areas. We look forward to continuing and expanding our work in this crucial realm.
“`