Bias Reporting & Response

Bias incidents are acts that do not constitute a crime or discrimination or harassment, as defined by University policies, but which may intimidate, mock, degrade, or threaten individuals or groups and which one could reasonably conclude targets a member or group within the University community because of that individual or group’s actual or perceived age, ancestry or ethnicity, color, creed, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, immigration or citizenship status, marital status, national origin, race, religion, religious practice, or sexual orientation. 

Discrimination is inequitable treatment by the University or its Affiliates based on an individual’s Protected Status that adversely affects a term or condition of an individual’s employment or limits or denies an individual’s opportunity to participate in or benefit from a University program or activity.  

Harassment is unwelcome conduct directed against an individual based on that individual’s Protected Status that is sufficiently severe or pervasive such that it limits or denies an individual’s employment, academic performance, or ability to participate in or benefit from University programs or activities. 

Hate crimes are defined as any criminal offense or attempted criminal offense that one could reasonably conclude is motivated, in whole or in part, by the alleged offender’s bias against an individual’s actual or perceived age, ancestry or ethnicity, color, creed, disability, gender, immigration or citizenship status, marital status, national origin, race, religion, religious practice, or sexual orientation. 

Protected Status means an individual’s race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, military or veteran status, or any classification protected by local, state or federal law.

For more details, please see the following: 

• Policy Prohibiting and Responding to Discrimination Based on Protected Status- Students
• Policy Prohibiting and Responding to Discrimination based on Protected Status – Faculty & Staff

Bias Incidents

Any member of the campus community who is the subject of or who witnesses any bias incident may submit the Bias Incident Reporting Form. 

Discrimination or Harassment

Members of the campus community may report potential discrimination or harassment here.

• For matters involving students either as the subject of the alleged discrimination or harassment or as the person alleged to be discriminating or engaging in misconduct, contact Tracy Cassalia, Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students, at (804) 289-8464, tcassali@richmond.edu. For disability related concerns contact Cort Schneider, Director, Disability Services, at (804) 662-3017, cschnei@richmond.edu.
• For cases involving staff or faculty as the subject of possible discrimination or harassment, please contact Geraldine Sullivan, Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Employees and Chief Human Resources Officers, at (804) 289-8747, geraldine.sullivan@richmond.edu.

Hate Crimes

Any member of the University community who has been the victim of a crime, including a hate crime, or who believes their physical safety may be threatened should contact the University of Richmond Police Department by calling 8911 (from a campus phone) or (804) 289-8911 (from a mobile or off-campus phone).

If you are unsure where to report, please complete the Bias Incident Reporting Form or the Ethics and Compliance Reporting Form or call 804-289-8911, and your report will be routed where it needs to go.

• Immediately after submitting your report, you will receive an automated response confirming the receipt of the report and providing you with contact information for inquiries. As soon as possible, usually within one business day, an appropriate core team member will contact you for additional information about the incident, and/or to discuss next steps. If you are experiencing an emergency, please call URPD.
• When appropriate, bias incident reports will be referred to or shared with offices or individuals responsible for investigating incidents, including the Title IX Office, Conduct Officer, and UR Police Department.
• Applicable privacy laws, regulations, or policies may limit the information that can be shared regarding the response to a bias incident report. 
• For information on the process for responding to reports of discrimination or harassment, please see the following: 
  • Policy on Preventing and Responding to Discrimination and Harassment Against Students and
  • Policy on Preventing and Responding to Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct Involving Faculty or Staff.

Dear Members of the University Community,

I write to share information and updates about the University’s bias reporting and response processes. These updates follow from an internal review that was announced in January and that took place over the past several months.

Integrated approach

Starting immediately, the University will pilot a new holistic and integrated approach to bias reporting, response, and support that leverages existing processes. The three components of this approach are:

• reporting, response, and data gathering;
• data analysis and process review; and
• proactive initiatives to build community capability and coordinate educational efforts to mitigate bias.

Together, this work will help ensure bias response, education, and mitigation efforts are effective and proactive. Because this new approach includes and goes beyond the functionality of the Bias Resource Team (BRT), the BRT has been dissolved.

Reporting an incident

We are committed to being a welcoming, inclusive, skilled intercultural community. We also recognize that our campus exists in a larger societal context and that, unfortunately and despite our best efforts, bias incidents may occur here as they do elsewhere.

Students, staff, and faculty can report bias incidents (either that they experience or witness) here.

Each report filed will be routed to the appropriate staff members, one of whom will provide a compassionate and timely response, including individualized support and resources.

Feedback

As we pilot this new approach, we are eager to receive feedback from students, staff, and faculty. Staff members directly involved in supporting the bias incident reporting and response process will meet with students, staff, and faculty over the next few months to share information about the pilot and solicit input. Please consider attending one of these sessionsor sharing your feedback and questions here.

Appreciation

Before closing, I would like to express my gratitude to the internal review working group for their time, dedication, and hard work. Drs. Mia Reinoso Genoni and Glyn Hughes ably co-chaired the group, which included Dr. Morgan Russell-Stokes, Shannon Sinclair, Anthony Crenshaw, Kris Henderson, Aaliyah McLean, and me, collaborating with other peers and campus leaders, including many who had been part of the Bias Resource Team (BRT). The working group also considered feedback received from students, staff, and faculty over the course of last year as an essential part of the review process, conferred with a national subject matter expert, and conducted relevant research. I am deeply appreciative for their thoughtful work and partnership.

As we start a new academic year, may each of us strengthen our resolve to create and sustain a campus culture that values the dignity and worth of each person toward a community of compassion, care, and belonging.

Amy Howard
Senior Administrative Officer for Equity and Community

Dear Members of the University Community, 

I write to share information and updates about the University’s bias reporting and response processes. As Senior Administrative Officer for Equity and Community, I supervise the Office for Institutional Equity and Inclusion which supports the Bias Resource Team (BRT). 

We are committed to continuing to listen, learn, and take steps to better support our campus community.  

Last semester, students, faculty, and staff asked us to be clearer about institutional processes around bias incidents. In response to this important feedback and to further our values of equity, inclusion, and belonging, we have made changes that include: 

• Creating an updated webpage with definitions, FAQs, information, and a basic flow chart outlining the reporting process for bias incidents; 
• Updating and improving the bias incident reporting form;  
• Centralizing information on how to report bias incidents, discrimination, harassment, and hate crimes under the University’s existing policies; 
• Updating and making more visible information about the Bias Resource Team, including what it does and doesn’t do and listing its members; 
• Developing a BRT fact sheet which is now available in offices across campus; and 

• Adding a faculty member to the BRT with faculty senate support. 

The information and resources above more clearly articulate the current processes in place. In our effort at continuous improvement, we are also starting an internal review of the bias incident reporting processes and the BRT, and we will continue to seek feedback and communicate any changes. For questions about the BRT, please contact the chair of the BRT and director of the Office for Institutional Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Glyn Hughes, at ghughes@richmond.edu or me directly at amy.howard@richmond.edu. 

As we start a new semester and new year, may each of us strengthen our resolve to create and sustain a campus culture that values the dignity and worth of each person toward a community of care and belonging. 

Sincerely, 

Amy Howard 
Senior Administrative Officer for Equity and Inclusion