November 4, 2024
UW President, Provost commit to new processes, policies, training and more in response to antisemitism and Islamophobia task force reports
The University of Washington on Monday announced several improvements and new practices to address concerns of antisemitism and Islamophobia that were raised in a recent climate assessment and associated task force reports. UW President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Tricia Serio on Monday responded to the co-chairs of the task forces with an outline of steps they are committing to take, including the creation of a Title VI Coordinator role, a consolidated Civil Rights Compliance Office and new policies to consistently track bias incidents.
“We are deeply appreciative of your excellent work and your leadership, especially in such challenging times,” Cauce and Serio wrote in the letter. “We have read the assessment and reports comprehensively and have considered your recommendations carefully.”
The task forces conducted surveys and focus groups to gather information and perspectives to help leadership better understand the University community’s concerns and to inform potential actions.
Ed Taylor, UW’s dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, served as co-chair of both task forces. The Islamophobia Task Force was co-chaired by Karam Dana, the Alyson McGregor Distinguished Professor of Excellence and Transformative Research in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at UW Bothell. The Antisemitism Task Force was co-chaired by Janet Baseman, professor and acting chair in the Department of Epidemiology on the Seattle campus.
Both task forces emphasized the need for better reporting, tracking and responses to incidents of bias, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. Cauce and Serio committed to the following steps to address these concerns comprehensively:
- Creation of a Title VI Coordinator to oversee institutional compliance with Title VI and University Executive Order 31 to ensure complaints of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin receive appropriate review and follow-up.
- Creation of a consolidated Civil Rights Compliance Office within Compliance and Risk Services that will include the Title VI Coordinator, the Title IX Coordinator and the Civil Rights Investigation Office to ensure consistent approach across these processes and better monitor, appropriately direct and resolve incoming complaints.
- Establishing new policies to ensure consistent tracking and evaluation of trends identified in the University’s bias reporting tools.
The President and Provost also committed to education and training support for faculty, university leaders and student-facing staff, and improved and ongoing engagement with leaders in the Arab, Muslim and Palestinian communities as well as Jewish community.
“While we have already been engaged with leadership in the Jewish community and we will continue to stay in communication, we recognize the need for outreach to identify, cultivate and build connections with leadership in the Arab, Muslim and Palestinian communities,” Cauce and Serio wrote.
In response to specific concerns raised by the Antisemitism Task Force, Cauce and Serio noted that the UW is committed to upholding the law and University policies, reiterated that the UW’s freedom of expression and community standards are available on a consolidated website that was highlighted for the UW community at the start of the quarter, and that updates to the Use of University Facilities (UUF) process are underway to ensure that time, place and manner regulations are consistently applied. Additional commitments and examples of actions toward cultivating civil discourse and maintaining inclusive learning environments free from discrimination were noted.
In response to specific concerns raised by the Islamophobia Task Force, the President and Provost shared existing resources that can be used to create inclusive spaces and affinity groups to support Arab, Muslim and Palestinian identities for students, faculty and staff, and committed to deepening UW’s expertise in academic areas related to Islamophobia. While agreeing with the task force that representation matters, Cauce and Serio also noted that the UW has developed specific staff and faculty hiring guidance and toolkits to ensure equity and inclusion in hiring within state and federal laws and regulations.
“These actions and commitments represent a beginning not an end,” Cauce and Serio wrote. “It is also important to note that while we list responses to specific task forces, these responses apply to the broader community.”
The work toward assessing the degree to which UW community members feel the University is safe and welcoming will continue with the UW’s second comprehensive University Climate Assessment. The assessment is on a five-year cadence and the 2025 survey will follow the one conducted in 2020.
The full letter can be viewed at the task forces’ website.
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