Realignment of campus compliance organizations: Equity and Equal Protection Office

We are pleased to announce the realignment of existing campus compliance organizations into a single campus Equity and Equal Protection Office.The Office of Equity and Equal Protection will be comprised of the Title IX Office, the Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action Office, the UCSC ADA Program, and the UCSC Whistleblower Program.

The Office of Equity & Equal Protection will be responsible for the administration of UC Santa Cruz’s policies and procedures regarding discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, religion, disability, sex, gender, age and other protected identities. 

This reorganization of existing compliance resources into a new unit is FTE neutral and is intended to streamline processes for students, staff and faculty who may have a complaint or grievance, shifting the burden of wayfinding from individuals to the institution. EEP will help complainants identify and enter the appropriate process more quickly, provide effective case management, and serve as a resource for the entire campus community on issues of harassment and discrimination. 

EEP will be led by current Title IX Director Isabel Alvarado Dees, who will serve as interim Associate Vice Chancellor of Equity and Equal Protection and report  to the chancellor. The AVC-EEP will hold plenary titles for the multiple areas reporting to the office including Title IX Coordinator, Locally Designated Officer (LDO), ADA Coordinator, and Equal Employment and Opportunity (EEO) Director. 

In addition, the scope of authority and jurisdiction of the Title IX Office will be restored to include responsibility for campus Title VI compliance (previously known as the Harassment, Discrimination, Prevention, Investigation Unit) and the EEO Director will take responsibility for student employment-discrimintation complaints, a function that previously resided in the Career Center.

We will conduct a preliminary review of this new organizational structure in December 2020 to evaluate effectiveness and determine the next steps for hiring a permanent AVC-EEP. I thank the many members of our community who have already provided input on this reorganization. I look forward to future engagement as we work to improve access and equity for all students, staff, and faculty.

I also write to express my gratitude to AVC Jean Marie Scott for serving at the LDO since July 1 and to Special Assistant Bill Kidder for supporting LDO and ADA functions as we developed the structure for this new organization.

During this time, interim AVC Teresa Maria Linda Scholz has overseen the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) including the Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity functions since July 1. She has been central to rethinking our campus needs and developing this new unit. Interim AVC Scholz will partner closely with EEP and continue to lead ODEI and the Hate/Bias Response Program, and I am very grateful for her willingness to take on and help transform these crucial functions over the past eight months.

For more information about the new campus office, visit the EEP website.