In September 2014, I appointed the Presidential Committee on Campus Sexual Misconduct, chaired by College of Public Health Dean Laura Siminoff.

Memorandum To: Temple University Community From: President Neil D. Theobald Date: Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015 Subject: Update on Presidential Committee on Campus Sexual Misconduct In September 2014, I appointed the Presidential Committee on Campus Sexual Misconduct, chaired by College of Public Health Dean Laura Siminoff. For the next seven months, the committee worked diligently to obtain a comprehensive understanding of Temple’s current policies, procedures and campus climate regarding sexual misconduct; to benchmark Temple against best practices; and to develop strategies and recommendations to ensure that Temple University is providing a safe and healthy environment for all members of our community. In April, the task force provided an excellent report to me (available at http://sexualmisconduct.temple.edu) that proposed a number of major recommendations to help ensure that Temple University is addressing sexual misconduct prevention needs; providing the most effective services to the university community; increasing education on sexual misconduct; and strengthening the infrastructure of sexual misconduct resources and services. I want to again thank Dean Siminoff and her committee for their excellent report. I am particularly impressed with the level and thoughtfulness of their analysis. Upon receiving the report, I appointed Assistant Vice President Anne Nadol, a member of my office, to oversee converting the recommendations into an action plan. Anne has worked tirelessly over the past four months to create an implementation plan that will ensure our policies, procedures and staffing reflect current needs. Throughout the process, we have apprised Temple’s Board of Trustees of our progress. The most important points made by the committee are these: A key committee recommendation is to “Improve the organization and accessibility of information regarding sexual misconduct policies, procedures, and resources by restructuring a ‘one stop, one shop’ website that is no more than 2–3 clicks from the Temple University home page.” With the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, under the leadership of Dean of Students Stephanie Ives, we have created a Sexual Misconduct Resources website that more clearly identifies incident reporting, support services, resources and policies. We will continue to add features and information to this site during the fall semester. Another key recommendation is to “Review and update all appropriate policies and practices as they pertain to adjudication to ensure they meet or exceed requirements, including providing more training for Student Conduct Board members and incentives to serve on the board.” In response, we are updating the Student Conduct Code to enhance internal processes for handling sexual misconduct complaints. We will be adding a specially trained retired judge to conduct certain hearings. Three recommendations address educational needs: “Upgrade misconduct education through programs that are comprehensive in addressing multiple levels of influence for sexual misconduct and integrate various interventions that work together in sufficient dosage with repeated exposure”; “Engage in university-wide informational and educational campaigns that are tailored to the different university stakeholder communities and assure that all members of the university complete baseline training”; and “Include sexual misconduct website location in course syllabi.” This fall, we are implementing mandatory, annual online sexual misconduct awareness training for sophomores, juniors and seniors. As you may know, similar programs are already offered to incoming students. Temple also provides small-group trainings throughout the year. Expanding these programs to faculty and staff will be discussed in collective bargaining. Five recommendations address strengthening the infrastructure of sexual misconduct resources and services: “Improve accessibility of training support materials by offering them in languages other than English and various formats to ensure their relevance to different cultural groups”; “Explore how to provide 24/7 counseling and hotline support services”; “Enable anonymous reporting of sexual misconduct incidents”; “Offer amnesty to victims of sexual misconduct for alcohol- and drug-related infractions that occur in conjunction with an act of sexual misconduct”; and “Invest in additional staff for counseling, support, and education.” As part of my strategic priorities, funding will come from my office to strengthen the services offered by Temple as we continue to review our short- and long-term needs. A major recommendation that I have not approved is to “Create a centralized sexual misconduct office to develop and expand educational offerings, provide coordinated and comprehensive support for victims, and coordinate existing services and campus-wide efforts.” I believe we have the capacity and skills needed to oversee these efforts without creating another administrative office at Temple. I commit that if my judgment proves incorrect, I will revisit this recommendation. I also commit that lack of resources will not be the reason that the university is unable to carry out these critical duties. Sexual misconduct is a serious issue, and we must all work together to create and maintain a safe, respectful and welcoming environment on our campus. The committee’s review of efforts at other universities makes it clear there is no easy, straightforward solution. The plans we have developed further enhance the information, support services and fair proceedings that are available to all parties. Finally, I cannot overemphasize how grateful our university community is to Dean Siminoff and the Presidential Committee on Campus Sexual Misconduct for their work last fall and winter: Alice J. Hausman, Professor, College of Public Health Bernie Newman, Interim Chair and Associate Professor, School of Social Work Richard Greenstein, Professor, Beasley School of Law Charles J. Leone, Executive Director, Campus Safety Services Stephanie Ives, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Sherryta Freeman, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Compliance and Student-Athlete Affairs Sandra Foehl, Director of Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX Coordinator Lisa Zimmaro, Assistant Vice President, Risk Management and Treasury Blair Alston, Undergraduate Student Brittany Lewis, Undergraduate Student Nicholas Perugini, Undergraduate Student In addition to these members, Kaitlin Bangert from the College of Public Health provided committee support, while Cameron Etezady, Associate University Counsel, advised the committee. Laurie Ann Maurer and Mary Kate Kalinich, along with Research Associate Kristin Kopec, provided administrative support and perspective from Temple’s graduate students. For more information and to view the report of the Presidential Committee on Campus Sexual Misconduct, please visit Temple’s Sexual Misconduct Resources website.