Personnel in the IUB Office of Affirmative Action, which is located in the
Poplars Building, include (from left) Tammy Sherwood, Sue Swartz, Vella
Price, Laura Galloway and Mark Bryson. Julia Lamber (not pictured) is
interim director.What the staff of the Office of Affirmative Action (AA) on the Bloomington campus would like all employees to know is this: the staff is "user friendly" and with new complaint procedure guidelines in place this semester, the office is ready for its "next generation" of service to the IUB community.
Personnel in the IUB Office of Affirmative Action, which is located in the
Poplars Building, include (from left) Tammy Sherwood, Sue Swartz, Vella
Price, Laura Galloway and Mark Bryson. Julia Lamber (not pictured) is
interim director.
The office's goal is as simple as it is complex: to ensure that all faculty, staff, students and others individuals served by IU are able to pursue academic endeavors, obtain and maintain employment, and utilize university services without experiencing discrimination based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual harassment, sexual orientation or veteran status.
According to Mark Bryson, affirmative action specialist at the office, the new procedure guidelines (access them on line at the Web site at the end of this story) will aid the office in its role as a clearinghouse.
Depending on the nature of the complaint, staff may suggest other offices
on campus for advice and processing. A situation of discrimination based
on a physical disability, for example, might be referred on to Disabled
Student Services, where staff expertise on the Americans with
Disabilities Act is most current. A complaint in which cultural diversity
is an issue might be addressed by such offices as International Services,
the Office of Latino Affairs or the Office for Afro-American Affairs. All
initial informational and advising sessions are kept confidential and no
records are kept.
Bryson said that the office is putting a strong emphasis on mediation services as well. Laura Galloway, associate director, is a certified mediator, and mediation is a strategy to "help resolve situations in an easier, informal way," Bryson said. The office may provide a forum for both complaining and responding parties to work toward a mutually agreed-upon resolution. Alternative dispute resolution is suggested when both the complaining and responding parties voluntarily participate in the process.
Home Pages suggests staff, faculty and students with concerns -- whether related to an affirmative action, equal employment opportunity, labor relations or any situation in which discrimination may be an issue -- refer to the AA Web page. You may also make inquiries via E-mail at affirm@indiana.edu.
AA Web page:
http://www.indiana.edu/~affirm
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