Important update on JHU Title VI policies
Dear colleagues,
After our town hall on July 21st, attended by 130 faculty members, we consulted with the national AAUP and the JHU administration. At stake were two main points:
Ensuring that no personal information will be shared with the federal government as part of the university’s current reporting duties, and,
Ensuring a transparent and fair process with an appeals mechanism and tools to limit overreach, protect faculty rights, and effectively combat discrimination and harassment.
We are pleased to report that the university administration confirmed to us, on August 7, that Hopkins is “taking all possible steps to share de-identified information for our upcoming OCR reporting deadline. To be clear, [the university is] not sharing personal information as part of this reporting.” Moreover, the administration confirmed that names of complainants or respondents would not be shared with the federal government. They also affirmed that the university goes “to great lengths in any circumstance when [it is] required to share information – including with the federal government – to protect the privacy and confidentiality of members of our community, and [it includes] an accompanying reminder of federal legal protections.”
The administration also confirmed that the university will continue to honor its legal obligations, including transmitting information if legally required to, and under the protections afforded by the law. We will continue to monitor this situation carefully.
We are grateful to our university administration partners for their prompt responses to our questions and requests, and their commitment to an effective and productive partnership with our chapter. We know they share our concerns in prioritizing the confidentiality and privacy of our community members, protecting free academic inquiry for everyone.
On the second point regarding transparent and fair processes, we look forward to ongoing conversations with the university to arrive at guidelines that ensure a harassment and discrimination-free campus and robust protections for academic inquiry and due process.
We are grateful to all those who attended the Town Hall and who shared their concerns. As always, please feel free to email us with your thoughts and questions. You can also find additional resources for faculty here. While we strive to support all faculty whether or not they are AAUP members, members receive the full complement of resources that the Chapter and the National AAUP can offer. You can join the AAUP here. If joining poses any challenges, please let us know.
In solidarity!
Lisa, Ahmed, Siobhán, and Graham
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Lisa Siraganian, President
Ahmed Ragab, Vice-President
Siobhán Cooke, Secretary
Graham Mooney, Treasurer
Hopkins Chapter of the American Association of University Professors
