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Dear CSUN Community,
I write today to share several important updates.
A valued member of our Matador community, Barrett Morris, Assistant Vice President for the Office of Equity and Compliance (OEC), has announced he will be leaving CSUN on November 1. Barrett has been a strong leader and advocate for an equitable and respectful learning and working environment and we are grateful for his four years of service. In addition to his work in Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation programs, he has been an instrumental partner in new equitable hiring practices, in enhancing communications and building the capacity of the OEC team, and so much more. I am grateful for his dedication to reshaping systems that reflect our core equity values. Barrett will be missed. Please join me in expressing gratitude to him for his leadership and service. A national search will be launched in the coming weeks for this critical campus role and I encourage your participation in this important process.
As previously shared, we have begun implementing the recommendations of the Cozen O’Connor Assessment Report on Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation. Cozen’s recommendations to campus included the addition of personnel in OEC and resources have been allocated to support our programming. Cozen’s expert guidance also included updating the reporting structure to include oversight of OEC by:
“a university official whose portfolio is focused on compliance issues to help the AVP identify short- and long-term priorities, internally align roles and responsibilities, develop and strengthen documentation and recordkeeping practices, update informational materials and web resources, formalize information-sharing through a multidisciplinary team, and ensure sufficient resourcing to sustain the office’s functioning.”
After carefully considering their feedback, our campus structures, and an optimal framework for support and success, Kristina de la Vega, Associate Vice President for Human Resources, will now provide leadership to the OEC team, as she previously did from 2013-16. This also brings us in alignment with Cozen’s additional guidance to separate proactive equity initiatives from compliance processes. Taken together, and augmented by the work of the campus implementation team, we are on the path to building an infrastructure that will better support our campus and the exceptionally hard working professionals in OEC.
Additionally, we look forward to receiving the recommendations soon from the study launched last spring to help us define the role of an equity champion, a campus leader, directly reporting to me. This cabinet leader will solidify strategy to amplify our values of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging and further enable our campus Road Map and the efforts of so many across campus in this important work. I remain deeply committed to building an infrastructure that empowers our collective work. I expect the report soon and that we will be able to launch the search this fall, and here too, I am eager for your participation. Please watch for additional information in the coming weeks.
Thank you again for your partnership in fostering a culture of care, compliance, and accountability to advance a brighter, more equitable future.
Sincerely,
ERIKA D. BECK, PH.D.
President
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