Gender Equity and Title IX Office Faculty and Staff Resources

ALL faculty and staff members MUST report the following incidents when a student is a victim / survivor and they observe, obtain knowledge, learn of, or reasonably suspect:

• Any form of sexual harassment (verbal or physical)
• Rape / sexual assault
• Dating violence and domestic violence
• Stalking
• Forcible touching
• Sexual exploitation
• Other sexual misconduct

ALL faculty and staff members MUST report the following incidents when a faculty or staff member is a victim / survivor of:

• Any form of non-consensual physical sexual act including but not limited to rape, sexual assault or forcible touching 
• Dating and Domestic Violence

ALL faculty and staff members shall report any non-violent sexual act, including but not limited to:

• Verbal sexual harassment
• Gender Discrimination
• Sexual Exploitation

The only Fordham employees who are exceptions to the Mandatory Reporting requirements are:

1. Clinical Counselors in Counseling and Psychological Services
2. Pastoral Counselors in Campus Ministry
3. Medical Service Providers in University Healthy Services

For more information on Mandatory Reporting Requirements, please review Section VII of the University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures.
 

Learn more about free, confidential resources available to all faculty members, e.g. unlimited telephonic clinical assessment and referral, available 24/7 365 days days-a-year.

Supporting the Success of Pregnant and Parenting Students:

The University encourages and supports the academic and professional success of pregnant and parenting students and employees. Fordham's non-discrimination policy specifically prohibits discrimination against those of marital or parental status, which includes on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery therefrom.

Reasonable accommodations may be needed to assist such students in order for them to continue their enrollment and course of study. However, students must still fulfill the required academic course, program, and or licensing requirements of any course or program.

Because the requirements for courses, programs, and schools at Fordham vary, the deans and faculty are typically in the best position to decide how students can make up missed work.  

• Students who are pregnant and anticipate missing coursework due to pregnancy, giving birth, or recovery from childbirth should, if possible, inform their professors early in the course or program so that it may be easier for the professor to explore options to assist the student in completing your coursework.  Please note that not all requests for accommodations can be made.
• Faculty are required to offer pregnant and parenting students reasonable accommodation in order to finish their coursework. This may include viable alternatives or additional time to complete required course requirements.  It is at the individual faculty member’s discretion to determine what is considered a viable, reasonable accommodation. 

The University encourages and supports the academic and professional success of pregnant and parenting students and employees. Fordham's non-discrimination policy specifically prohibits discrimination against those of marital or parental status, which includes on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery there from.

Lactation Rooms Available for Nursing Mothers:

If you are a nursing mother and need a private space to express breast milk, the University will make reasonable efforts to make a private space on campus available to you. 

All Employees, in advance of their return to work, should inform their supervisor and the Manager of Benefits Administration in Human Resources (718-817-4933) that they are requesting space to express breast milk.  The supervisor and Manager of Benefits Administration will work together to find an appropriate location.   

For Students: 

• At the Rose Hill campus, please contact Greg Pappas, Dean for Student Services, at 718-817-4355
• At the Lincoln Center campus, Room 140W G14A is open and available for use
• Students at the Law School should contact the Student Affairs office at 212-636-7155
• At the Westchester campus, students should contact Grant Grastorf, at 914-367-3202

Complaints of Discrimination based upon Pregnancy or parenting status:

Students should first address concerns with their individual professors. If unsatisfied with the faculty member’s response, then please contact the dean of your school with your concern. Employees should contact the Department of Human Resources with any pregnancy or parenting related concerns.

Once you have attempted to resolve your concern with your dean’s office or Human Resources, you may also file a complaint with the Title IX Coordinator for the University:

Kay Turner, Esq.
Vice President for Human Resources and Interim Title IX Coordinator
Faculty Memorial Hall, Room 229
718-817-0181 | [email protected]

A discrimination compliant may also be filed with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

For more information regarding Fordham's policies for Faculty, please review the University's Non-Discrimination Policy. 

The University's Mission Statement affirms that, in preparing "citizens for an increasingly multicultural and multinational society, Fordham seeks to develop in its students an understanding of and reverence for cultures and ways of life other than their own."

The University’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) efforts provide for the enhanced effort to recruit, employ and promote women and members of cultural minorities. A faculty and staff with the capacity to further the University's interest in diversity also provides a pool of qualified and experienced mentors for the increasingly diverse student population in the New York metropolitan area.

The Director of Institutional Equity and Compliance is available to all members of the Fordham community for consultation and training, providing techniques and methods of ensuring non-discrimination as well as equal access and fair treatment of individuals. 

Helpful information from the Office of Disability Services on assisting those students with special needs.

Please consider placing the following the statement on your course syllabi: 

"As a faculty member, I am a mandatory reporter and am required to contact and provide information to Public Safety, to the Dean of Students, and/or to the Title IX Coordinator if I learn you have been sexually harassed (verbally or physically), sexually assaulted /raped, stalked, had domestic violence or dating violence occur in a relationship, or been a victim / survivor of any behavior prohibited by the University's Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures.  Once reported, the University will promptly seek to properly support any student and make efforts to stop the discrimination, prevent it from recurring, and remedy its effects. There are three confidential places on campus where you can seek support where it will not be "reported": clinical counselors in Psychological & Counseling Services, pastoral counselors in Campus Ministry, and medical service providers in University Health Services. The Student CARE Brochure can provide you with on and off-campus resources for support and more information, and you can also visit www.fordham.edu/care or www.fordham.edu/sexualmisconduct for more information."

Please also see this article by the Chronicle for Higher Education as to why this may be helpful to students.

We have created a helpful guidance for those faculty members on Search Committees.  To view and download the document, please log on to my.fordham.edu, select the "Faculty" tab and look for the download link at the bottom of the page on the left-hand side.