To: Wellesley College Faculty and Staff
From: Courtney Coile, Provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56 Dean of the College, and Carolyn Slaboden, Chief Human Resources Officer
Re: Mandatory Annual Title IX Training
Date: November 4, 2024
We are reaching out to inform you that new federal regulations require mandatory annual Title IX training for all faculty and staff of higher education institutions. To comply with these regulations and to ensure that the entire Wellesley College community can benefit from a work environment free from sexual misconduct, discrimination, and harassment, Wellesley College is offering virtual and in-person training sessions for faculty and staff. The sessions will address our obligations under Title IX and the College’s Sexual Misconduct Policy. In addition, they will cover Title VI and the prohibition on discrimination and harassment based on other legally protected categories set forth in Wellesley College’s Policy Against Unlawful Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation.
Because research has shown that personalized training is significantly more effective than generalized training in preventing sexual harassment, we have developed a virtual training module tailored to the Wellesley community that we are supplementing with several live, in-person training sessions. Faculty and staff can fulfill the training requirement by completing the virtual module or by attending an in-person session.
Madeleine Rodriguez, a partner at Foley Hoag and co-chair of the firm’s education practice, recorded the virtual training session for the College. She has extensive experience advising higher education institutions on their legal obligations under Title IX, Title VI, and other areas. Faculty and staff can access the 30-minute session here. You will first need to be signed into your Wellesley Zoom account.
Justin Bell, Wellesley’s director of nondiscrimination initiatives, Title IX coordinator, and ADA/Section 504 coordinator, together with Allison Luke, legal fellow and deputy Title IX coordinator, will host three live training sessions open to all faculty and staff. The in-person sessions are scheduled for the following dates:
- Monday, November 11, 2024, at 1 p.m. in PNE-239
- Monday, December 9, 2024, at 1 p.m. in SCI-H105
- Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 1 p.m. in FND-120
Please bring your Wellesley College ID card to the live training session. You can register for a live training session using this form.
As a reminder, Wellesley College does not tolerate discrimination or harassment or any form of hate on our campus. The Office of Nondiscrimination Initiatives is dedicated to reviewing all reports of discriminatory or harassing conduct carefully through an established process. Regardless of whether a complainant decides to proceed with a formal investigation by a trained investigator, the College offers significant resources and individualized supportive measures and assistance to community members. For more information, please view the College’s Sexual Misconduct Policy and Policy Against Unlawful Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation.
We appreciate your prompt adherence to this training requirement, which will help you better understand the protections against sexual misconduct and discrimination and harassment on our campus.
If you have any questions about these policies and procedures, or concerns arising under these policies, please contact Justin Bell at titleix@wellesley.edu or 781-283-2451, or use the online reporting form.
