Be Empowered (Report Bias)

Step 1: Notification

Upon submission, the report is sent automatically by email to the members of the Bias Response Team (BRT):

• Sherri Crahen, Ph.D., VP of Student Affairs and Dean of Students
• Jim Krukones, Ph.D., Vice Provost of Academic Affairs
• Jennifer Rick, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources
• Emily Sherwood, Interim Title IX Coordinator
• Lisa Brown Cornelius, Senior Director of Residence Life
• Selen Zarrelli, Director of the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion 
• Megan Wilson-Reitz, Interim Manager of DEI Programs

Reports are also copied to the following members of the University leadership:

• Colleen Treml, J.D., General Counsel

Step 2: Confirmation

If you shared your contact information in your report, a BRT member will be in touch with you to confirm receipt of the report and/or to give or receive more information about its content. (We are unable, obviously, to confirm receipt of reports filed anonymously.)

For more about privacy and confidentiality of reports, please see “Should I identify myself in my bias report?”

Step 3: Investigation

Responsibility for your report will be assigned to the most appropriate BRT member (complaints involving faculty, for example, will generally be handled by Dr. Jim Krukones; complaints involving residence halls will generally be handled by Lisa Brown Cornelius).

Depending on the content and nature of the report, a number of things may happen in this stage:

• A meeting may be called with the reporter to request more information;
• A meeting may be called with the alleged offender in order to discuss the content of the report;
• Others may be called in to assist with resolution of the complaint (such as Facilities staff, supervisors, or JCUPD). (See “Step 2” about sharing.)

Step 4: Resolution

In the “Resolution” stage, the BRT and others will work together to try to resolve the complaint in the Bias Report.

The report may be addressed in multiple ways. Some ways in which bias reports are addressed include:

• Disciplinary action (in cases of clear violations of law or university policy)
• Educational conversations
• Individual or small group mediation
• Targeted communications (such as an email sent to residents of a particular building)
• Meetings or community gatherings
• Revisions to existing policies
• Campus programming
• Consciousness-raising activities

Please note: The Bias Reporting Process does not replace any existing grievance structures or disciplinary procedures. Rather, Bias Reports are one way of reporting behavior that may be subject to these existing policies.

If the report is investigated and determined not to be an incident of bias, generally no action will be taken.

Step 5: Follow-up

If you wish more information about how your report was handled, you may reach out to any member of the BRT to discuss the final disposition of your report. (Please note that certain information may not be shared due to privacy concerns.)