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The Bias Education & Response Team (BERT) is responsible for reviewing bias incident reports, following up on reports toward an appropriate resolution, providing individual and community care, providing bias education, communicating with the campus community regarding bias incidents, and maintaining the integrity and improvement of the bias response process.

Individual care and education may involve offering resources and consultation for individuals who wish to talk through an experience, consider their options for reporting, personally address or advise others on addressing bias, and seek more knowledge and education on the topic of bias.

What can the Bias Education & Response Team do?

• Provide care to those negatively impacted by bias
• Provide information and resources
• Facilitate resolution processes to address conflict
• Facilitate education and dialogue
• Coach managers and leaders
• Refer bias reports to other processes for possible investigation and follow-up
• Utilize bias response data to inform policy and make recommendations to mitigate the impact of bias

What can’t the Bias Education & Response Team do?

• Propose or facilitate formal discipline of students, faculty, and staff
• Terminate faculty and staff
• Expel or formally discipline students
• Censor or punish people for protected speech
• Change curriculum
• Investigate or make any findings of fact
• Replace difficult conversations between students, faculty, and staff

Meeting Schedule

The Bias Education & Response Team meets weekly to ensure that reports are reviewed, assigned, responded to, resolved, and recorded in a timely manner. BERT is also responsible for compiling and publishing an annual report utilizing aggregate data and de-identified information for the ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Community.

Current Members of the Bias Education & Response Team

• Phyllis Esposito, Vice President and Dean for Institutional Diversity
• Jessika Chi, Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity
• Christy Martin, Title IX & 504 Coordinator
• Karnell McConnell-Black, Vice President of Student Life
• Sheena McFarland, Executive Director of Public Affairs
• Phu Nguyen, Associate to the Office for Institutional Diversity
• Kathy Oleson, Dean of the Faculty’s Office
• Heather Quinn-Barron, Director of Human Resources
• Chris Toutain, Dean of Students
• Dhyana Westfall, Community Safety Manager
• Cypress Williams, Assistant Director of Human Resources

Reporting

Quarterly Report to President’s Staff

To ensure ongoing awareness and timely decision-making, BERT is responsible for compiling and delivering quarterly reports to the President’s Staff. These reports provide a summary of bias incident data and identify emerging trends over the quarter. The information is presented in aggregate form, ensuring that no identifiable details are included. The purpose of these reports is to inform leadership of current campus climate issues and to support the development of responsive strategies and policies.

Annual Report to Community

In order to keep the community informed and to provide recommendations, BERT is responsible for compiling and publishing an annual report to summarize annual bias incident reporting data and describe trends. The information will be reported in the aggregate and will not contain any identifiable information.

Ongoing Education

In order to keep the community informed about the bias incident reporting process and to encourage reporting, BERT will engage the campus community in ongoing education about bias and responding to bias. This includes informing all new members of our community about the bias incident reporting process (e.g., during new student orientation, new faculty orientation, and new employee orientation), providing an annual bias training that is required of all community members, and keeping the community informed about the reporting process at community meetings (i.e., faculty meetings, all staff meetings, student body public meetings).

BERT, along with the Office for Institutional Diversity, may develop additional educational training, workshops, and resources as needed to support the community in understanding bias and mitigating harm.

Information Sessions

BERT will host a series of sessions specifically designed to support our campus community in understanding and navigating the bias process. These sessions will offer opportunities to review the process, answer any questions you may have. 

• Thursday, August 22 - Department Chairs
• Friday, August 23 - CAT/CAPP
• Tuesday, September 24 - Senior Staff
• Tuesday, October 1 at 4 p.m. in Vollum Lounge - Open session for all staff & faculty
• Wednesday, October 9 at 9 a.m. in Vollum Lounge - Open session for all staff & faculty
• Thursday, October 10 - Supervisors & Managers
• Monday, October 14 at noon in Vollum Lounge- Open session for all staff & faculty