Emory University is one of 55 U.S. colleges undergoing an open federal review regarding its handling of sexual violence claims on campus.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released a list today in a press release of higher education institutions that are under investigation for compliance to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 – legislation that prohibits sex discrimination in federally-funded educational programs. Previously, the information about schools under investigation was only available by request.
The list, found below, includes schools that are under investigation either because the OCR received complaints or because the OCR initiated a compliance review.
"This compliance review, which has been pending since December 2013, was not initiated in response to any complaint, but rather, is part of the agency's Title IX compliance and enforcement function," Emory's Senior Communications Officer Beverly Clark wrote in an email to the Wheel.
The Department of Education will not release any institution-specific information.
Emory's presence on the list does not indicate that it violated or is violating any law.
OCR will determine if Emory responds immediately and appropriately to complaints to sexual harassment, sexual violence and sexual assault under the requirements of Title IX. The review will also include assessments of Emory's sexual assault prevention, outreach, support and education programs. Some of Emory's sexual misconduct resources include the Respect program, the Emory Police Department (EPD) and the Center for Women.
Clark wrote that Emory has fully cooperated with the Department of Education in the review to see if Emory complies with Title IX policies and procedure.
At the end of the investigation, the Department will release, upon request, whether Emory and the OCR agree to address compliance concerns or whether there is not enough evidence of a Title IX violation, the press release stated.
"We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education Catherine E. Lhamon said in the press release. "We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue."
Clark wrote that Emory actively works to "build a safe community, and takes all complaints and accusations of sexual misconduct seriously."
"The university devotes multiple resources to students, faculty and staff for outreach, support, reporting and advocacy," she wrote.
Some universities on the list include those that have had high-profile complaints and media attention, such as Florida State University and Occidental College. Others have not had as much attention, including the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and Butte Glen Community College District.
Ada Meloy, general counsel at the American Council on Education, told POLITICO that the OCR should have indicated which colleges are under investigation due to a complaint and which are undergoing OCR-initiated compliance reviews.
The release of this list is part of President Barack Obama's larger initiative, which includes a task force created by Obama in January that released its recommendations this week on how universities should further combat sexual assault on campus.
The OCR will regularly update its list of universities and colleges undergoing open investigations. The universities on the list include:
Arizona State University
Butte-Glen Community College District
Occidental College
University of California (Berkeley)
University of Southern California
Regis University
University of Colorado (Boulder)
University of Colorado (Denver)
University of Denver
University of Connecticut
Catholic University
Florida State University
Emory University
University of Hawaii (Manoa)
University of Idaho
Knox College
University of Chicago
Indiana University (Bloomington)
Vincennes University
Amherst College
Boston University
Emersen College
Harvard (college and law school)
University of Massachusetts (Amherst)
Frostburg State University
Michigan State University
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
Guilford College
University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
Minot State University
Dartmouth College
Princeton University
CUNY (Hunter)
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Sarah Lawrence College
SUNY (Binghamton)
Denison University
Ohio State University
Wittenberg University
Oklahoma State University
Carnegie Mellon University
Franklin and Marshall College
Pennsylvania State University
Swarthmore College
Temple University
Vanderbilt University
Southern Methodist University
University of Texas (Pan American)
College of William and Mary
University of Virginia
Washington State University
University of Wisconsin (Whitewater)
Bethany College
West Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
If you have been affected by sexual assault, abuse in a relationship or stalking, you have support at Emory. Contact Lauren (LB) Bernstein in the Respect Program in the Office of Health Promotion at 404-727-1514 or Lauren.Bernstein@emory.edu to schedule a confidential consultation.
– by Karishma Mehrotra
Contributed Reporting by Sonam Vashi
Correction 5/1 4:30 p.m.: This article was updated to include a quote from Beverly Clark, Emory's senior communications officer, to clarify that she said the OCR review is not an investigation into a complaint.
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