January 8, 2018 Dear Faculty Colleagues, The report from the independent investigation led by Mary Jo White will be released this week. While we do not know what the investigation will conclude, we must be prepared to act if our University is to learn and to improve from this painful chapter. We strongly believe, as we wrote to the University community in December 2017, that policies on harassment and sexual misconduct need to have increased oversight by the University community and increased protections for complainants, including measures to prevent retaliation. We also believe that this crisis illustrates the need for greater faculty involvement in University governance, and for a renewed commitment to equity at the University. Many people are hard at work developing recommendations to move the University forward. The Commission on Women and Gender Equity in Academia, which comprises students, faculty, and staff members, is developing a comprehensive set of recommendations. Other policy recommendations will come from Senate subcommittees working on IT privacy, policies for faculty grievances, and the intimate relationships policy of the Faculty Handbook. We also expect recommendations for changes in policies and practices to arrive from other sources, as members of the University community digest the investigation’s report. However, to succeed in this work, we also need a rapid and accountable process to implement these policies. We cannot and will not rely only on the senior administration of the University to do this work. While President Seligman has supported the creation of the Commission, and has listened to proposals from the Faculty Senate and others, he has taken little action. He has not implemented forceful revisions in University policies or practices that could reassure victims of harassment and sexual misconduct that they are safe. He has not taken decisive steps to protect complainants against the possibility of retaliation. He has not responded to the University community's crisis in confidence with a strong, renewed commitment to shared governance or with increased transparency in decision making. This lack of action must end with the release of the report. We must take advantage of the efforts that faculty, staff, and students have poured into the consideration of revised policies and practices to support a safe and equitable University. The University administration and faculty must partner in this work in a spirit of mutual respect. The Senate Executive Committee is working with the senior administration to create a joint group, guided by the principles of shared governance, to be charged with implementation of the best recommendations that come forward from the work of the independent investigation, the Commission, the Senate, and others. To succeed, this group must be given authority to implement needed changes, and must be accountable to the faculty, students, and staff of the University. Trust in the leadership of the University has been lost in the last four months. Shared success in implementing improved policies and practices can rebuild that trust. No one will judge whether the University has moved forward to improve equity and safety on the basis of any report or set of proposals. They will judge us by the actions we take to cultivate a culture of justice and mutual support and by the policies we enact to support that culture at our University. Our next Faculty Senate meetings are scheduled for January 23 and February 12, and we look forward to discussions with you at these meetings. Sincerely, Faculty Senate Executive Committee