In an email sent to the Cornell community on Thursday, administrators announced the new Cornell Office of Civil Rights which will handle “all reports of bias, discrimination, and harassment on the Ithaca, Geneva, and Cornell Tech campuses” and replace the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX effective immediately.
Previously, the OIETIX was responsible for managing “bias incidents, sexual and related misconduct, discrimination, and protected-status harassment,” according to the old website.
COCR will continue to be responsible for all sexual misconduct cases, all Cornell faculty and staff issues related to “prohibited bias, discrimination, harassment” and reasonable accommodations and will now also be responsible for handling all student reports of bias discrimination and harassment in violation of Cornell’s Policy 6.4.
Student reports of bias, discrimination and harassment were previously managed by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. COCR will now handle Title IX and violations of Policy 6.4. In the statement, administrators explained that the move will help them ensure that “the same office addresses all Policy 6.4 concerns.”
According to the statement, “COCR will review all reports, provide support, and advise the university on appropriate responses in the case of substantiated policy violations, including partnering with OSCCS, which will continue to administer the Student Code of Conduct.”
Administrators said that the change will not affect students’ “rights and responsibilities” as outlined by the Student Code of Conduct.
The move was made to augment the work that the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX was previously doing, according to an article from the Cornell Chronicle. The decision is also a part of the University’s goal to “review and update” policies and strengthen the ability to “meet legal compliance obligations and track community trends” to create an “inclusive campus climate,” according to the Thursday statement.
“While many members of the Cornell community refer to us as the Title IX Office, we do a lot more than Title IX compliance, and we want the office name to capture all the work we do,” said Katie King, associate vice president of COCR in an article from the Cornell Chronicle. “Our office facilitates accommodations for employees and responds to allegations of bias, discrimination and harassment encountered by all members of the community.”
To reach out with the COCR, Cornellians can visit officeofcivilrights.cornell.edu or contact civilrights@cornell.edu and call 607-255-2242. COCR’s office will be located at Day Hall, Suite 500.
Correction, June 13, 2:40 p.m.: This article has been updated to accurately explain the role of the COCR in its transition from the OIETIX.
Zeinab Faraj is the assistant sports editor on the 143rd editorial board and a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
