About the College
Follow Us
Diversity, Climate, and Harassment
An inclusive working and learning environment benefits everyone in the College of Engineering.
Diversity—a variety of ideas, experiences, and backgrounds expressed by people with a mixture of nationalities, ethnicities, and genders working together—enlarges our understanding, expands our own experience, and prepares us to function well in the modern university and work place. A more varied pool of people can produce more and better ideas-if they seek each other out and work together. Tolerance and acceptance of others is not only a moral imperative. It is a practical one.
Every student, every faculty member, every staff member, and every administrator in the College of Engineering has a part to play in creating and maintaining an open environment.
Climate—the ambiance or comfort level of a learning or working environment—is a crucial element in recognizing and preventing harassment. In every College-related activity, each of us has an obligation to be open to a diversity of thought and culture as well as to avoid situations, behavior and/or language that exclude groups of people or make individuals uncomfortable.
Harassment—whether sexual, racial, or ethnic—is detrimental to us all. People who are harassed cannot perform well and harassers are wasting their talents on negative activities. Harassment is also illegal.
The bottom line is that we should treat all of the people with whom we work, learn, and socialize with respect. Good manners and inclusive attitudes make the College a good place to work and learn.
Diversity enriches our lives, when we let it.
The College of Engineering as an institution has an obligation, and is committed to creating and maintaining a climate that allows and encourages each individual to perform at his or her best. The College of Engineering Climate Committee, composed of students, staff, and faculty from each department, meets regularly to find ways to improve and enhance the climate.
We have an established complaint procedure and established procedures for dealing with harassment. Individuals throughout the College have trained to work individually and confidentially with students, faculty members, or staff who experience harassment. These advisers can provide confidential guidance on informal and formal procedures for resolving harassment problems.
Information on University policies on harassment, as well as information on grievance procedures, is available at the Office of the Dean, 101 Hammond; Engineering Student Services, 241 Hammond Building; or University resource centers.