Allegations of discrimination or harassment that fall under the Preventing and Responding to Discrimination policy or allegations against employees that fall under the Sex-Based Misconduct Policy.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) nondiscrimination policy prohibits discrimination. Incidents in which an individual demonstrates hate or bias against one or more individuals because of one of the protected characteristics described in the policy may fall within the definition of discrimination. But the First Amendment to the United States Constitution generally protects hate speech and biased speech, unless the speech also falls into a legally-defined category of unprotected speech, such as fighting words or true threats. The university upholds and will not infringe upon an individual’s First Amendment rights. Accordingly, some forms of hate or bias fall outside of the definition of discrimination and are not prohibited by this policy.

The university encourages all students, faculty, staff and others to refrain from demonstrating bias or hate in the educational environment and is committed to engaging in education about the effects of hate and bias.  The following examples demonstrate how the university uses certain terms as a tool and guide for training, educating, recognizing, and combating hate or bias.  Incidents of discrimination based on a person’s protected characteristic, such as religion, ethnic origin, actual or perceived shared ancestry, for example, should be reported to Equity and Access Services’ Equal Opportunity office.

Example of Hate and Bias:

The American Psychology Association (APA), provides a broad list of terms and definitions related to hate and bias, consistent with terminology used at VCU, found here.  Examples of hate and bias include antisemitism and islamophobia, but this is not an exhaustive list.

• • Antisemitism: 

Consistent with the Code of Virginia, VCU has adopted the non-legally binding Working Definition of Antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016, which states that, “[a]ntisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

• • Islamophobia:

According to the APA, Islamophobia is defined as: “[P]rejudice, negative sentiments, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia may be based on ideas about Islam as a religion and on ideas about Muslims as a cultural and ethnic group.  Islamophobic ideas portray Islam and Muslims as a threat to non-Muslims” (Berntzen & Rambøl, 2020, Key Definition section).  Hateful rhetoric often leads to discriminatory behavior toward Muslims.  In addition, Muslims with overlapping gender and other demographic characteristics may experience intersectional discrimination and stereotyping.  For example, Muslim men may be stereotyped as terrorists and violent, whereas Muslim women may be stereotyped as lacking control over their own lives (Clay, 2017).  People who present as being from Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African countries may experience Islamophobia regardless of whether they identify as Muslim.”

Other VCU resources about hate and bias:

• https://inclusive.vcu.edu/resources/forms-of-bias-and-hate/
• https://faculty.provost.vcu.edu/faculty-resources/prospective-faculty/
• https://faculty.provost.vcu.edu/media/provost/documents/VCU-guidelines-for-writing-statements-of-contribution-for-dei.pdf 

EAS staff members will review your report and assess the information provided. An EAS staff member will conduct outreach with the opportunity for an Intake meeting to discuss your reported concerns.

Current or former VCU student, applicant for admission, or participant in the university’s educational programs or activities within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory or retaliatory conduct; Current or former VCU employee or applicant for employment within 300 days of the alleged conduct; or Third party who is not a VCU student or employee within 300 days of the alleged conduct.

You may file a report and request anonymity if you wish. However, the remedies available through anonymous reporting may be limited, as VCU’s civil rights policies require that respondents (individuals against whom a complaint has been filed) be provided due process. This means respondents generally must be made aware of who raised the civil rights concern in order for an appropriate investigation to be conducted.

Yes, you are allowed a support person of your choosing to help you navigate EAS processes and assist you throughout an investigation.

A Formal Investigation is a form of resolution defined under the Preventing and Responding to Discrimination Policy that seeks to determine whether a violation of the Policy has occurred. For a Formal Investigation to commence, the misconduct alleged must have a basis for resolution under the Policy.

A trained Investigator conducts a Formal Investigation by engaging in party and witness interviews, collecting evidence, and summarizing all of the interviews and other evidence in a Report of Investigation. The Report of Investigation includes an analysis and discussion section where the evidence in the investigation is evaluated against the forms of prohibited discrimination, to determine whether a violation of the Policy has occurred.

Informal Resolution resolves a complaint by the parties mutually agreeing upon resolution, and does not include a formal investigation. Informal Resolution is voluntary and involves both parties formulating ideal outcomes, and then, with the help of a neutral facilitator, coming to an agreement related to resolution of the complaint.

A Respondent is the party that has allegedly violated the Preventing and Responding to Discrimination Policy. Respondent’s receive a “Notice of Investigation” document that provides details about the allegation(s), information about resolution, and other important information about the investigation. Also in the “Notice of Investigation,” the assigned Investigator for the case is identified, and the contact information of the investigator is provided.

The Respondent may contact the Investigator with any questions; the Investigator will likely be in contact soon after the “Notice of Investigation” is delivered to the Respondent, to schedule a time to meet to discuss the investigation and to ask the Respondent questions about the allegation(s).

The required training is called “EAS Non-Discrimination Training 2024” and can be found here.

It is the responsibility of every member of the VCU community to support diversity, foster a climate of inclusion, and be familiar with the Preventing and Responding to Discrimination policy. In order to equip employees with the knowledge needed to achieve this, VCU is using this online discrimination training.

Please feel free to reach out to us by completing this training request form, or at learnequity@vcu.edu, and we would be happy to assess your team’s specific needs and discuss any options available.

The 2024 training must be completed once by all current and new employees. EAS will issue new training to the community on a regular basis to refresh the concepts included in this training or address new or emerging issues.

Completion is monitored by EAS and Human Resources through VCU’s Talent system.

Select the gear icon (⚙️) at the top right of the Talent home screen and select “Help” from the menu. There you will find technical assistance guides to help navigate the Talent system.

The training is compatible with most devices and web browsers.