The Observer, March 7, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 20
Reporting sexual harrassment is important
To the Editor:
Case Western Reserve University seeks to foster the full development, advancement, and recognition of all members of our community. To this end, we expect all members of the community to work to create a supportive and inclusive environment for everyone. Unfortunately, as a recent Observer article ("Science, engineering need to eliminate bias against women") makes clear, we have not yet succeeded in achieving this goal.
I was deeply concerned by the writer's description of an incident that she considered reporting as sexual harassment. The university takes such complaints very seriously; we know that sexual harassment can be devastating to students, faculty, and staff who experience it. In this case, the appropriate university offices are reviewing this allegation in accordance with the university's sexual harassment policy, as is done for all complaints of alleged sexual harassment.
While we understand how difficult it can be, reporting such incidents helps us maintain a safe and productive environment for work and study. The university's policy has a streamlined informal process and a formal process, with the goal of the process being straightforward and hassle-free for anyone wishing to raise a complaint or concern. We encourage all members of the university community to familiarize themselves with the university policy on sexual harassment, which can be found at http://www.case.edu/provost/sexualconduct/policies/harass.html.
Through initiatives such as the ACES program (Academic Careers in Engineering and Science), the university has attempted to address the issues that the Observer article raised. (The challenges in achieving gender equality in physics specifically were the subject of an article in the April 2006 Physics Today by Evalyn Gates, who earned her Ph.D. in physics from Case Western Reserve.) Nonetheless, the Observer article reminds us all that both the university and our larger society have much more work to do.
Cyrus C. Taylor
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
