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While RIT as a whole through the Title IX Office
continues to work diligently to ensure all faculty,
staff and students are trained and informed
on prevention and awareness concerning Title
IX issues, there are other pockets of activity
in support of the mission as well. Two groups
in particular are leading the way with hosting
open forums and coffee chats. WISe (Women
in Science) and CASTLE (Center for Advancing
STEM Teaching, Learning, and Evaluation) are
active with bringing awareness to issues of sexual
harassment and discrimination in the classroom
and out. Physics faculty Drs. Scott Franklin,
Dawn Hollenbeck and Jeyhan Kartaltepe first
reached out to me in early fall of 2015 to express
their interest in engaging more faculty on the
conversations surrounding Title IX at RIT.
Since then, we have partnered to provide
informative sessions to faculty, staff and students
regarding national headlines and studies, in
particular regarding gender discrimination and
harassment issues in the sciences. In addition,
they raised my awareness on the issues in the news
as of late regarding various incidents at campuses
across the country including research published
in 2014 regarding the climate of harassment and
assault during scientific fieldwork. It became
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RI T TITLE
By Stacy DeRooy in consultation with
Dr. Scott Franklin
RIT Title IX Coordinator and Clery
Compliance Officer
Department of Compliance and Ethics
www.rit.edu/titleix
In other Advance RIT news…
RIT male faculty rallied as advocates to lead one of Advance
RIT’s newest programs called Advocates & Allies.
clear after the first coffee chat session that there
was not just a need but also an interest for
continued conversations. The faculty and staff
who were present clearly cared deeply about
the issues that may have previously lacked
understanding or awareness.
We have already seen some outcomes from
our collaboration in the form of reports about
behaviors some have experienced. The hope
with increased training and awareness is that all
members of the RIT community know about
resources and options for reporting while trusting
in the equitable process.
All incoming students receive training regarding
Title IX as well as all student leaders, athletes,
members of the Greek community, NTID and
International Students. Faculty and Staff
receive Title IX training during New Employee
Orientation. There are open sessions for
Faculty and Staff through CPD as well as the
training presentation being available online.
We anticipate the less formal conversational
sessions to take hold and spread to colleges
beyond the College of Science.
Advocates and Allies
Program Training Begins
Hospitality students learn about
culture and tourism industry in Dubai
Stacy DeRooy
The program is based on a successful initiative originally
developed by North Dakota State University. Allies
attend formal educational workshops to discuss focused
issues about how unconscious bias can affect faculty
recruitment, promotion and tenure, and what actions
can be taken to address the issue. From that original
Allies group will come Advocates who commit to
meeting regularly to collect, discuss and disseminate
new research on gender bias and social issues.
Led by Betsy Dell and Robert Garrick, both faculty in the
mechanical and manufacturing engineering technology
department in RIT’s College of Applied Science and
Technology, the program was launched this March
with a training session that included 12 male faculty
members from across campus.
Dr. Scott Franklin
“Male faculty are critical change agents in terms of
increasing the hiring and promotion of female faculty
in STEM fields along with ensuring the fair and equitable
treatment of women within their departments,” said Garrick,
who with Roger Green, associate professor of electrical
engineering, at North Dakota State, led RIT’s recent training.
Students from RIT’s School of International Hospitality and Service
Innovation traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the holiday break
to meet general mangers of some of the top hotels, businesses and
tourist destinations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Over 10 days, the
students toured prominent hotels, such as the Emirates Palace, regional
business centers, as well as popular tourist destinations. Meeting with
the general managers of each of the locations, the students learned
how the properties were developed, the connections to international
corporations and their financial impact on the region, and each
company’s approach to providing exceptional customer service.
Travel also includes cultural experiences—from visiting the souks,
or marketplaces among the communities, to learning more about
the region’s religions, arts, business community and sports. Upon
their return, the students present their travel impressions to CAST
classmates, as well as faculty and staff. The itinerary continues to
include the impressive Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, located in Abu
Dhabi, where the students take a guided tour of the facility, its art
and architecture. The students marvel at its beauty, but also walked
away with a better understanding of Islam. Photo provided by Rick
Lagiewski, lecturer, CAST’s School of International Hospitality and
Service Innovation.
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