Equity Complaint Council
Purpose
The University's Policy on Discrimination and Harassment designates the Equity Complaint Council to determine sanctions and/or disciplinary actions for all formal complaints of discrimination or harassment which have resulted in a finding of responsible under the Policy.
Appointment
The Equity Complaint Council is the sanctioning body comprised of Faculty, Staff, and Students (in student-student complaint), whom are recommended by the Title IX Coordinator and Director of OIE, and approved by the President.
Term
Faculty, Staff, and Students appointed to the ECC will serve for one (1) year consistent with the University's Committee appointment process.
Training
Prior to hearing a complaint, ECC members must go through an extensive training. It is required that every member receive yearly training which includes an overview of:
- Sexual Harassment and Discrimination;
- The University's Policy on Discrimination and Harassment; and
- Mock employment and student misconduct hearings.
ECC Membership
Tenured Faculty
Dr. Emily Zuccaro
Staff
Molly McKinney
Lee Ann Morrison
Samantha Pierce
Stacia Cook-McCoy
Dr. Lee Griesheimer
Stefanie Ashley
Student
Alexis Harris
Ed Wieland
Jordan Salem
Structure
For Student Respondents, the ECC has been given the authority by the University’s Board of Regents to impose a sanction for any violation by a student of this Policy, up to and including, suspension or expulsion. The ECC Hearing Panel shall consist of (1) faculty member, (1) staff member and (1) student member, as appropriate. For Employee Respondents, all disciplinary recommendations will be made in accordance with Regulation 8.4.3, Progressive Disciplinary Action. The appropriate President/Vice President, in consultation with Human Resources, will review the recommendations and implement discipline. The ECC Hearing Panel shall consist of two (2) faculty members and (1) staff members or (2) staff members and (1) faculty member, as appropriate, to be selected from the pool at random.
Hearings for Title IX Investigations
For hearings stemming from allegations under Title IX, the hearing body shall consist of one person, the Title IX Hearing Officer. This person shall be an outside party contracted by the University to do the following: 1) conduct and act as the Title IX Hearing Officer during the course of the hearing, asking questions and determining the relevance of any and all questions posed by either party to any other party; 2) assess credibility off all parties and witnesses at the hearing; 3) at the end of the hearing, and in a reasonable timeframe, decide responsibility, if any, on the part of the Respondent for any alleged Policy violation, and, where violations this Policy are determined to have occurred, consult appropriate administration to assign sanctions for the Respondent. The Title IX Hearing Officer shall set forth, in writing, all factual findings related to the hearing, all decisions related to the hearing, and, where applicable, all sanctions. This information shall be provided to the parties as soon as the information is made available by the Title IX Coordinator or OIE staff.
Conflict of Interest
In addition to compliance with the University’s Code of Ethics policy, an ECC Panel member should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the Hearing Panel member’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances where:
- The Hearing Panel member has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a participant in the process or has personal knowledge of disputed facts concerning the proceeding;
- The Hearing Panel member was directly involved in the matter in controversy, or a subordinate whom the Hearing Panel member previously supervised is involved in the matter, or the Hearing Panel Member was a witness to the matter;
- The Hearing Panel member or a person in his/her family is related to a participant in the process; or
- The Hearing Panel member is in the same Department or Work Unit as a participant in the process
Restricted Communications
Hearing Panel members shall not initiate, permit, or consider communications made to the Hearing Panel outside the Grievance proceedings concerning a pending or impending Grievance, except as follows:
- Communications necessary to perform their responsibilities and duties; and
- Communication for scheduling, administrative, or emergency purposes, which does not address substantive matters.
If a Hearing Panel member receives an unauthorized communication bearing upon the substance of a complaint, the member shall promptly notify the complainant, respondent, University representative, and the Office of Institutional Equity/Title IX Coordinator of the substance of the communication and provide the parties with an opportunity to respond.
A Hearing Panel member shall not investigate facts in a complaint, and shall consider only the evidence presented, and any facts that may be pertinent to the sanctioning/discipline determination.