A group of tenured faculty members approved a statement calling for NYU to more clearly explain how it responds to discrimination complaints and reverse disciplinary procedures changes that they said grant school deans overwhelming power. The statement, which was approved Monday, is now awaiting response from Provost Georgina Dopico.
All but one of NYU’s Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty Senators Council’s 39 members voted in favor of the statement, which reintroduced an April concern that the Office of Equal Opportunity does not define its procedures for evaluating discrimination complaints. In the statement, the faculty noted that while the university does detail its Title IX investigation process — which evaluates cases of gender-based harassment — including what information will be used and whether those involved are entitled to legal action, the same could not be said about other cases under the OEO.
The OEO has primarily dealt with Title IX issues, for which it has a dedicated committee, but an uptick in on-campus protests and demonstrations over the last year raised concerns about how NYU addresses Title VI issues, which evaluate cases related to race, color and national origin. T-FSC Governance Committee Chair Liam Murphy said procedures may be more clear after NYU hires its first Title VI coordinator, a position the university announced in July.
“I welcome this because it will regularize the procedures,” Murphy told WSN. “But in the meantime, it’s a bit of a black box — what’s happening over in the OEO when someone gets interviewed.”
At an Oct. 24 meeting between T-FSC and administrators, President Linda Mills said NYU is planning to hire a new OEO director to oversee the office. Mills said that the OEO will likely be restructured — especially with the new Title VI coordinator, set to begin in January.
At the meeting and in its recent statement, the T-FSC also refuted a letter from Dopico regarding the council’s initial criticism of changes to the faculty handbook. The updated guidelines transfer jurisdiction over disciplinary proceedings from a universitywide faculty committee to school deans, a change T-FSC members said undermines faculty authority and grants the deans “unchecked, arbitrary power.”
“The University Administration looks forward to providing additional updates regarding OEO’s policies and procedures once we’ve completed hiring a new assistant vice president to lead the office and a Title VI Coordinator,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement. “Searches are actively underway for both those positions.”
The T-FSC first called for a reversal of the handbook’s changes in April. In response, Dopico said the change had been made to expedite disciplinary hearings and reiterated that faculty committees could still offer their input on sanctions. According to the updated policy, deans are advised — but not governed — by a faculty committee from their respective school.
“With all due respect, this is no justification at all,” T-FSC said in the statement. “It does not follow from the fact that a dean is in a broad sense responsible for conduct of staff, administrators, students, and faculty in their school that they must have sole authority over matters of discipline.”
Update, Nov. 6: This article has been updated with a statement from a university spokesperson.
Contact Dharma Niles at [email protected].
