The University has created a new Office of Religious and Ethnic Inclusion (Title VI) to investigate and resolve claims of discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity, shared ancestry, or national origin. The office is the first of its kind nationally and comes in response to recommendations included in the Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism released in fall 2023 as well as the final reports of the University Task Force on Antisemitism and the Presidential Commission to Counter Hate and Build Community, issued last May [“Gazetteer,” Jul|Aug 2024].
“The establishment of this new Office ensures that Penn can continue to fulfill its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and under Penn’s own policies … and provides us with a critical central point of contact for Title VI training and compliance related to religion, shared national ancestry, and ethnicity,” wrote Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson in a message announcing the office’s creation.
Citing the “disquieting surge” of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate over the past year, Jameson added that “this type of prejudice is simply unacceptable, and has no place at Penn.” The new office will be “a stand-alone center for education and complaint resolution. It represents an institutional commitment to address both the short-term and long-term recommendations that we have received.”
The new office is charged with ensuring that Penn takes steps to prevent and respond to incidents of hate and maintains a welcoming environment for all groups. It will also work with other relevant University entities to assist in “identifying and supplementing the development of new programs and strategies to support an educated, respectful, diverse community on our campus.”
Once the office is formally launched later this semester, it will serve as the sole point of contact for complaints about religious and ethnic discrimination at Penn. This is meant to ensure that the response will be uniform across schools, that complaints from or about different University stakeholders “are treated seriously and sensitively, investigated, resolved or referred, and recorded,” and that investigations are swift and thorough.
“We believe the establishment of this Office is essential to ensuring that Penn can continue to offer its students, faculty, and staff the most welcoming, supportive and safe environment possible,” Jameson concluded. “Its creation reflects Penn’s unwavering determination to confront antisemitism and Islamophobia and establishes our University as a national leader in this critical effort.”