Dear Campus Community,

As we begin the new academic year, I want to welcome you back and introduce an important new campus resource: the Office of Title IX.

UT is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and nondiscriminatory learning, living, and working environment free from sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking, and retaliation. The Office of Title IX, located at 1817 Melrose Avenue, was established to help educate the campus community, prevent incidents, support those in need, and address concerns related to Title IX.

We have made several updates to our Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Relationship Violence, Stalking, and Retaliation that are now in effect. We have increased training and provided greater clarity about mandatory reporters to ensure that students, faculty, and staff have access to support and reporting options. We have updated definitions of prohibited conduct and consent. Also, to help you find information more easily, we have broken down the policy to provide focused appendices:

• Policy (with no appendices)
• Appendix A: Guide on Care, Support, and Reporting Options
• Appendix B: Consent
• Appendix C: Procedures for Investigating and Resolving Allegations of Prohibited Conduct When the Respondent Is a Student
• Appendix D: Procedures for Investigating and Resolving Allegations of Prohibited Conduct When the Respondent Is an Employee or Third Party
• Appendix E: Guide for Mandatory Reporters

We encourage you to review our policy and our 2016 annual report.

For even more information, we invite you to join us at 5 p.m. on September 12 at the Baker Center Toyota Auditorium. The Office of Title IX, in collaboration with Student Conduct and Community Standards, the Center for Health Education and Wellness, the UT Police Department, the Student Counseling Center, and the Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee, will provide information on the following topics:

• UT’s 2017 Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Relationship Violence, Stalking, and Retaliation
• Care, support, and reporting options for students
• University procedures to resolve reports of prohibited conduct under the policy
• Programs, trainings, and events to engage the community and help prevent sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking, and retaliation

Thank you for helping the Office of Title IX create an informed and engaged community.

Ashley Blamey
Title IX Coordinator