Duty to Inform, Title IX and the Mandatory Reporting of Injuries to Children Act
Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct and to the safety and well-being of all members of our community as an integral part of its mission and vision as a premier urban, public research university.
Although we are confident that our university community is successfully living out these high standards, there are enough cautionary tales from campuses around the country that remind us that we should remain vigilant and regularly communicate with the entire campus community about our duty to report and address any wrongdoing. To achieve this goal, the university expects and relies on each member of the community to report actual or suspected violations of federal or state laws, violations of university policy or procedures or other suspected wrongdoings. This includes reports from students, third-parties and/or anonymous sources.
These reporting responsibilities apply equally to all members of the university community under the following university expectations and federal and state mandates: Duty to Report policy [PDF], Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Mandatory Reporting of Injuries to Children Act within the Code of Virginia. If you are aware of any policy violation, misconduct, or other incident that needs to be reported, please report immediately. The university offers reporting mechanisms to all university members in order to support this expectation. You may give notice to the university in a variety of ways and details are provided in the universitywide policy Duty to Report [PDF].
Crimes and threats
If you are a witness to a criminal act or observe an imminent threat to persons or property, please call the VCU Police Department immediately at 8-1234 (on-campus) or 828-1234 (off campus).
Title IX
VCU prohibits discrimination in all educational programs and activities on the basis of sex. Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and/or sexual coercion. If you observe sexual harassment, or if any person reveals to you that he/she learned of, or was a victim of, perpetrator of, or witness to sexual harassment or sexual violence, immediately file a report with the university. Allegations of discrimination are overseen by Wanda S. Mitchell, Ed.D, VCU’s title IX coordinator and vice president for the Division of Inclusive Excellence.
• For incidents involving students, make reports to the associate vice provost/dean of student affairs and deputy Title IX coordinator, Dr. Reuban Rodriguez, Ed.D., at (804) 336-1643.
• For incidents involving employees, report to interim director of institutional equity and deputy Title IX coordinator, Dolores Carrington-Hill, at (804) 828-1347.
For additional information about VCU’s Title IX Coordination, please visit the following websites:
• titleix.saf.vcu.edu/what-title-ix
• inclusive.vcu.edu
Education and training initiatives
Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Title IX Training at VCU, March 7
On March 7, 2014, VCU will host an interactive Title IX training session for members of the VCU campus and other local universities and colleges. Representatives from the Washington, DC Office of Civil Rights will work with interested VCU community members on how to conduct Title IX investigations. (Location and time to be determined.)
VCU Sexual Violence Awareness Month Events, April 10
On April 10, 2014, VCU will offer two events to instruct and inform community members of their obligation to report incidents of gender inequity, sexual misconduct, violence, exploitation, inappropriate language, and harassment. I invite your participation in one of the following events that will be held in the Student Commons Theater. Our facilitator, Daniel C. Swinton, J.D., Ed.D., is the senior executive vice president of the NCHERM Group, LLC. Prior to his work with the NCHERM Group, he served as assistant dean and director of student conduct and academic integrity at Vanderbilt University.
- 9-11 a.m.: Gender Equity and Sexual Misconduct Training for Senior Leaders with Daniel Swinton
This two-hour seminar is designated for senior VCU leaders (vice presidents, vice provosts, deans, associate/assistant vice presidents/vice provosts and associate/assistant deans), and will highlight campus members’ obligation to report and address gender discrimination and sexual misconduct.
- 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: Campus Forum – Title IX: What Everyone Needs to Know about Sexual Misconduct and Gender
Discrimination (lunch provided)
The campus forum, facilitated by Daniel Swinton, is designed for members of the VCU community to learn about the importance of Title IX reporting and the impact of sexual misconduct and harassment in the workplace.
Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect
We share a great responsibility to prevent and immediately report the actual, or suspected, abuse of children, and there are no exceptions. All faculty and staff have a duty to report any known or suspected child abuse, or the neglect of any minor under the age of 18, immediately, as prescribed by Virginia law. Reports are to be submitted to the Virginia Department of Social Services at 1-800-552-7096 and follow up by giving notice to the university through any of the available reporting mechanisms.
A university community member’s duty to report is not delegable, and no university faculty, staff, or student may interfere with the good-faith reporting of suspected or actual wrongful conduct. Also, no individual who makes a good-faith report shall be subject to retaliation, including harassment or any adverse employment, academic or educational consequence, as a result of making a good-faith report.
If in doubt, report activities or concerns immediately though the above mentioned reporting mechanisms.
Questions
Questions about this communication may be directed to [email protected] and [email protected].
Additional information
You may always file a report through the VCU Helpline by calling 1-888-242-6022, or by logging a report online at www.vcuhelpline.com. Both of these options provide university members an anonymous and confidential reporting option 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The helpline is answered by a third party vendor that does not track phone numbers or IP addresses to computers. Reports submitted will be handled as promptly and discreetly as possible.