Dear students, faculty, and staff,

First, I want to thank you. Sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking, and retaliation are not simple issues. Your willingness to become informed is critical to becoming part of the solution.

Our annual Title IX reporting process provides an overview of prevention efforts, information about reports, and interim/support measures over the past academic year. The university has provided an annual update of reports of sexual misconduct since 2014. Last year, we broadened the report to include stalking and relationship violence. This year, we have added information about reports of faculty and staff misconduct. You can read the report on the Title IX website.

Two things I would like to note:

• As you review the report, you will see an increase in reports of sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking, and retaliation. Our process improvements have led to increased reporting. Our education and prevention efforts have created awareness in our community that better supports reporting and use of available resources.
• Sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking, and retaliation are community issues. With the opening of the Office of Title IX in August 2017, Chancellor Beverly Davenport made a public commitment to our university. The Office of Title IX is taking the lead, but this is your home, too. From the faculty member on the conduct board to the student who is an active bystander at a party, the commitment belongs to us all.

Grounded in the social-ecological model, the university’s Title IX commitment model emphasizes five areas:

• Policy. Our foundation is in the policy and procedures we follow.
• Prevention. Our goal is to prevent sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking, and retaliation before they happen.
• Support and interim measures. Our promise is to provide support and appropriate interim measures to individuals involved in the Title IX process.
• Investigation and resolution. Our commitments to due process, campus safety, and encouraging reporting guide how we investigate and resolve reports.
• Patterns and trends. Our responsibility is to use the best available research, evidence-based practice, and our own campus trends in our prevention and response efforts.

We are all here to live, learn, work, and engage. Our office cannot fulfill our mission without you. We need your help.

Please join me for Hike the Hill in Heels on April 2. Even if you don’t have heels or are not able to complete the full hike, I would love to see you there. You can learn more about the hike and other ways to get involved by visiting the Office of Title IX website and clicking the “Get Involved” tab.

My door remains open year-round to your ideas, suggestions, questions, and concerns. I look forward to working with you.

With gratitude,

Ashley Blamey
Title IX Coordinator