On Tuesday, October 31, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced what was supposed to be a resolution of a sexual harassment investigation of a tenured faculty member formerly employed by Arcadia University in Glenside.
Arcadia recently held a town hall meeting attended by students, faculty, and staff about Title IX concerns.
An employee of the university informed us that a student-led protest will take place on campus on Thursday, November 9 at 12:00pm. The protest allegedly revolves around a series of student allegations of sexual harassment by employees of the university beyond the faculty member investigated by the OCR.
Dr. Ajay Nair, Arcadia’s president, announced via email today that Nora Nelle, Title IX Coordinator, has resigned from her position, effective immediately.
From President Nair’s address:
Less than 48 hours ago, we had what to me was an intense but necessary conversation about Title IX concerns, the state of the University, and other matters affecting our community. As President of Arcadia University, I am deeply saddened by the pain, frustration, and disappointment our students, staff, and faculty shared with me. I apologize. We have fallen short of meeting our shared goal of building a safer, healthier campus where all community members can learn, grow, and thrive. Your trust and belief in Arcadia University is important to me; I made a commitment to myself and to this community that we would strive to be the best university that we can be, and I am renewing that commitment today.
The email goes on to list a plan of action the university will take to address concerns, including “a thorough investigation of our Department of Public Safety,” “clear expectations for professional and appropriate behavior by employees at the Chat [a university dining hall],” student focus groups “to share feedback, ideas, and concerns”, plans to supplement current Title IX education and training with external experts, among other items.
For our previous coverage of the U.S. Department of Education’s press release, you can click here.
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Photo: Arcadia University