Dear DU Community,

As you may be aware, the U.S. Department of Education has issued final regulations that put into place new legally binding requirements that will impact the way DU and all universities that receive federal funding manage and report cases of sexual assault. I am writing to assure you that these changes will in no way compromise our commitment to creating an environment in which all members of the DU community feel safe reporting their experiences and remain confident that their cases will be heard thoroughly, fairly, and with respect.

Through the wecanDUbetter campaign, we heard painful stories about how survivors feel that DU has let them down in the past. Those stories united our campus, and I made a public commitment that DU would respond swiftly and proactively to all future incidents of gender-based violence and sexual assault.

As promised, I am writing today to provide an update to the statement and detailed action plan to combat sexual harassment and assault that I shared on March 5. You can find an update to that action plan here.

Because the new rules are complex, and require DU to implement some new processes by August 14, we want to keep the community fully informed. Toward that end, I hope you will join me and a panel of experts and interested parties on June 16 at 3:30 pm MT for Ask the Experts about Title IX: A Dedicated Town Hall. The Zoom link is here. Our panelists will be:

• Jeremy Enlow, interim executive director of equal opportunity and Title IX coordinator, Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX;
• Molly Hooker, interim deputy Title IX coordinator, Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX;
• Michael J. LaFarr, interim associate vice chancellor and executive director of the Health and Counseling Center, Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence;
• Kristine McCaslin, director, student rights and responsibilities, Campus Life & Inclusive Excellence;
• Josh Richards, vice chair, of the Higher Education Practice at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP;
• Beth Robischon, associate general counsel, Office of General Counsel;
• Kayla Rodriguez, coordinator, CAPE Advocacy Services, Health and Counseling Services;
• Jack Thomas, doctoral student in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology and member of the Healthy Masculinity Working Group; and
• Grace Wankelman, undergraduate student, Undergraduate Student Government senator, and co-founder of the wecanDUbetter campaign.

You can find important resources on DU’s Title IX website, including links to the Title IX Final Rule Overview, the Title IX Final Rule as published in the Federal Register on May 19 and anonymously share concerns, questions or ideas for the new Title IX process at DU. We plan to address your questions and concerns on June 16 and at other future programs. Also, we are seeking volunteers to be part of a Title IX policy/procedure advisory committee to provide feedback as we develop our new processes. Nominations can be emailed to titleix@du.edu. We welcome feedback and invite participants to help us make our process as effective and supportive as possible.

Our progress in this important area must continue and I am dedicated to ensuring it does. Please join us on June 16 to share your questions, suggestions or responses to the new federal regulations. Our unequivocal goal remains to make DU a place where all members of our community feel safe, welcome, and supported.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Haefner
Chancellor