OEOD E-News Summer 2005    

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (OEOD)

A quarterly electronic newsletter with the latest information on policies and programs related to diversity, discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment.

Are you eligible for a Staff Development Scholarship? Visit www.eod.uci.edu/funds.html and find out. Staff Development Scholarships reimburse registration fees for classes, courses, programs, workshops, seminars, and conferences. The scholarships are intended t o assist career staff in developing knowledge and skills that enhance their current positions or improve their qualifications for advancement at UCI and to promote employee development and ensure the quality and diversity of UCI's workforce.

During 2004-2005, 113 staff applied for scholarships. Of those, 77 were awarded. Scholarships were provided for courses toward BA, MA, and MBA degrees, continuing education and recertification. Awardees attended conferences and annual meetings on topics such as neonatal nursing, student personnel administration, neuroscience, wilderness risk management, social work, grant writing and orthopedic trauma. Go to www.eod.uci.edu/funds.html to learn more about this terrific opportunity!

The June 2, 2005 issue of Black Issues in Higher Education (Volume 28, No. 8) reports the Top 100 institutions for baccalaureate degrees awarded to minorities by higher education institutions.

UCI was ranked as follows:

The tables printed in this edition of BIHE include overall summaries for minorities [1] combined by specific disciplines and racial/ethnic groups. The All Disciplines category ranked the top 100; the discipline-specific categories ranked the top 50.

In addition, UCI ranked #44 in awarding baccalaureates to American Indians in the Social Sciences. The only California campus ranked in the Top 100-All Disciplines for granting baccalaureates to African Americans was California State University-Dominguez Hills (#43), although UC campuses did have Top 50 rankings in several specific disciplines.

For more information on the BIHE Top 100 rankings, including learning which institutions ranked #1 in various categories, drop by the Office of Equal Opportunity at 103 MSTB to review this edition of Black Issues in Higher Education . The Top 100 Graduate & Professional Degree Producers will be highlighted in the July 14, 2005 issue of BIHE .

The Office of the President, in cooperation with Title IX Officers and faculty volunteers throughout the system, has been working with an on-line training resource to complete an AB1825-compliant training course. AB1825 is the new state law which requires employers to provide two hours of sexual harassment prevention training and education to all supervisory employees every two years and to all new supervisory employees within six months of their assumption of a supervisory position. A final draft of the on-line training course is anticipated soon. Watch for alerts from the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (OEOD) to learn about this valuable training resource when becomes available. In the meantime, t he OEOD continues to provide workshops designed specifically for both faculty and staff supervisors on this topic. To schedule a workshop, please call us at 949-824-5594.

Consensual Relationships Policy in Agreement with Recent CA Supreme Court Finding
On July 18, 2005 , the California Supreme Court held, in Miller v. Department of Corrections , that when sexual favoritism in a workplace is sufficiently widespread it may create an actionable hostile work environment. In this case, the Court determined that a demeaning message is conveyed to female employees when they are viewed by management as "sexual playthings" or that the way for women to get ahead in the workplace is by engaging in sexual conduct with their supervisors or management. Review the Policy on Conflicts of Interest Created by Consensual Relationships to learn more about UCI's effort to manage the conflict of interest presented when members of the University community engage in a consensual relationship that might very well be appropriate in other circumstances. http://www.policies.uci.edu/adm/pols/700-16.html

Supreme Court Requires Reasonable Action from Both Employers and Employees
In Burlington Industries v. Ellerth , the Supreme Court has ruled that an employer is negligent with respect to sexual harassment if the employer knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to stop it. The employer must exercise reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior. In addition, the employee must reasonably act to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise.

Complaints are Costly When Mishandled
A federal jury has ordered Bishop State Community College to pay $285,000 to a former student after finding that the Alabama institution had mishandled her sexual-harassment complaint against a professor. The student had complained that a professor had touched her inappropriately and kissed her. She submitted a report of the incidents. She alleges that the college officials did not investigate her charges, and instead she was counseled to rearrange her schedule to avoid taking classes with the professor, or to change her major. The college has appealed this verdict.

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[1] Minorities include members of racial/ethnic groups that have historically been underrepresented, including African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Hispanic.