Role of the Harassment Policy Officer

• Serves as a resource regarding Lehigh’s Policy on Harassment.  Helps members of the Lehigh community determine whether a situation involves harassment and possible courses of action.

• Maintains confidentiality of all formal and informal complaints, to the maximum extent possible.  Maintains written records in a secure location.

• Is an official intake point for formal harassment complaints against faculty and staff, and subsequently engages in fact finding investigations with a co-investigator.

• Is not involved in formal harassment complaints against students.  These should be referred to the Dean of Students Office.

• Does not have administrative authority to impose disciplinary, remedial, or any other actions on university faculty, staff, students or departments, nor to make specific changes within the institution (see Section 6 of the Lehigh University Policy on Harassment for information on the formal complaint process). 

When should you contact the Harassment Policy Officer or others designated in the informal network?

• You are unsure of the appropriateness of an individual’s behavior or you want another objective opinion regarding a potential harassment situation.

• You want to discuss a situation confidentially with someone knowledgeable about Lehigh’s Policy on Harassment to decide whether you should take action and, if so, what to do.

• You want to learn what resources are available to you regarding a possible harassment situation.

• You want to know what your alternatives are for resolving a potential harassment situation or you want to try to resolve the situation in an informal manner.

• You are concerned about a hostile work environment and fear retaliation.

• You intend to file a formal harassment complaint, but you would like guidance about the process.

Initiating Informal Resolution or Formal Complaint

Who to Contact:

A member of the Lehigh University community or guest who believes that he or she has been subject to harassment, or any member of the University community who has knowledge of harassment incidents, is encouraged to confer promptly with one of the following people:

• staff member in the Dean of Students office, Director of Women’s Center, or Human Resources;

• academic department chair;

• administrator (for the purposes of this policy, administrators include academic associate deans and deans of the four colleges, vice provosts, assistant and associate vice presidents, the provost and vice presidents, and the president);

• the Harassment Policy Officer or ombudsman who are tenured faculty members;

• A list of individuals who can be approached for informal problem resolution can be found at:

http://www.lehigh.edu/~inhro/eerelat/ContactGuide.htm

This person will be knowledgeable about the University harassment policy and can offer guidance in obtaining further assistance. He or she may assist in informal resolution (see Section 5 of the Lehigh University Policy on Harassment). In serious cases, this person will contact the Harassment Policy Officer, the Dean of Students office, or the Manager of Employee Relations and Training in Human Resources about filing a formal complaint (see Section 6 of the Lehigh University Policy on Harassment).

The complainant may also contact the Harassment Policy Officer, the Dean of Students office, or the Manager of Employee Relations and Training directly about filing a formal complaint.

How do I contact the Harassment Policy Officer?

Professor Christine Cole was appointed to the position for two consecutive 3-year terms from 2002-05 and 2005-08.  The Harassment Policy Officer is available to meet with students, faculty, and staff on or off campus at their discretion.  Professor Cole’s hours are flexible, and a time to meet can be arranged by phone, e-mail, or stopping by her office.  All discussions are confidential as described in the Policy on Harassment. 

Christine Cole

Room A317

Iacocca Hall

phone: (610) 758-3270

e-mail: clc2@lehigh.edu