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Safety First – Part I

Safety First – Part I

Safety First – Part I

“Safety first.”

It’s a phrase that means a lot these days, for obvious reasons. We have deliberated, researched, and made bold decisions to have students in class with every precaution needed to prevent the spread of the virus. By diligently masking, social distancing, handwashing, and isolating when needed, our whole academic community have made it possible for University of Nebraska to be the one school in the Big Ten holding 70% of its classes on campus. 

But creating a safe environment across all of our campuses goes beyond COVID-19. While we were all focused on the virus, a great deal of work was being done to address a different threat.

At my first Regent meeting, several young women spoke about their stress and anger with the university’s response to their reports of sexual misconduct.

To give you a bit of background, in previous years, students who filed sexual misconduct reports were provided assistance from an outside agency in Lincoln. But recently, the university decided to end its outside provider contract as the Center for Advocacy, Response and Education (CARE) was established. Their mission is “to improve and sustain a culture of health and wellness in relationships, and promote a commitment to the welfare of others, protection of rights and support all fundamental fairness and due process.”

That’s a mouthful, but each element is critical to fostering safe environments at the university.

Once CARE was up and running, the work began in earnest and an awareness campaign promoted resources, reporting, and a supportive campus climate. The “Use Your Voice” initiative was followed by a bystander intervention program, and a sexual misconduct resource website.

This was a decent start, but more needed to be done. 

In the Fall of 2019, the UNL Chancellor established a campus-wide Collaborative on Sexual Misconduct to examine the policies, procedures, and practices regarding and responding to sexual misconduct. There was a heavy focus on preventing sexual misconduct and meeting the needs of people who had experienced it.

Thus the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Collaborative on Sexual Misconduct Committee was born. It was comprised of 75 people from across all disciplines, departments, staff, undergraduate and graduate students.

But of course, just as they began their work on a report they hoped to deliver in August of 2020, the Department of Education in Washington DC released new guidelines for Title IX Regulations across the country.

You’ve probably heard about Title IX. You’ve likely seen plenty of headlines about it as well. I had also heard of Title IX for a number of years, but in studying this issue for UNL I learned some things I had not known. 

For example, I didn’t know that it was created to follow up with equal rights for women, and that the federal law was intended to create equal opportunities for students in schools and other educational programs that receive federal money. 

It was also designed to protect individuals from gender bias. As a result, it began to open the doors to women’s sports in schools across the country. The ultimate penalty for violations was withdrawal of any federal funding. So, pretty serious. Higher education and K-12 schools all learned to be clear about the guidelines that the Department of Education created to enforce Title IX. 

And as I was working on this blog, I read that the Bennington School District has just received notice of a Title IX lawsuit against them filed by parents of the female softball and basketball teams. 

Well, to bring us back to the University of Nebraska and the Sexual Misconduct Committee, The Department of Education issued a new set of guidelines that would go into effect August 14, 2020.  

So, now the Collaborative that had been at work since Fall 2019, they needed to integrate required changes from the federal government.

I’m not typically one for cliffhangers, but there are a number of layers in this discussion so this blog is going to be a two-parter. Now that we have a foundational understanding of where we’ve been with this issue, I look forward to exploring what we’ve achieved and where it is we’re headed… in the next blog.

 

 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.

 

Last Resolution Standing

Last Resolution Standing

Last Resolution Standing

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve already broken most of my New Year’s resolutions in one way or another. No judgment, of course. We’re all doing our best. In fact, that’s the one resolution of mine left standing: work on being a better regent.

This may sound silly (bear with me), but one of the unexpected challenges of being a regent has been learning all the acronyms. Honestly, it almost feels like learning a new language sometimes.

To that end, I’m excited that I’ve gone from not knowing what IANR stood for (Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources) to not batting an eye when talking about IANR’s oversight of the new CAP program. CAP stands for Center for Agriculture Profitability, and it’s one of many exciting new programs the university is introducing this year. This particular one focuses on how to use research and economics to help Nebraska farmers strategically utilize resources to make a better living.

Another aspect of this whole regent business that I feel more comfortable with at this point is making my voice heard.

It was difficult for me, initially, to speak out on a number of issues as I was learning the ropes of the position. It feels really good to be in a place where I have a lot more confidence engaging in discussions and brainstorms. You might be thinking, “okay, good for you, why does this matter?”

It matters because the whole reason I’m here is to represent the values that we share, the ideas we want presented, and the future we want to work toward together. Yes, I am my own person, but I’m also a conduit. I’m here for you.

This year I also had the privilege of being on the Presidential Search Committee and to work with fellow regents on the Risk and Assessment Committee to evaluate our progress. Though we may have different approaches, we are working on creating an objective evaluation tool so that if we’re not doing our jobs well enough, we will know it.

Introspection and self-assessment can be tricky, but it’s like a muscle – you have to keep working it to make it stronger. It’s the same with creativity and imagination.

And I’m happy to say, continuing to work hard to improve is exactly what I intend to do.

 

 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.

 

Committee Curiosity

Committee Curiosity

Committee Curiosity

Well, here we are. Mid-winter, mid-pandemic, and I am completing my second year as a regent. Despite the bizarre, surprising, and sometimes unsettling turns of events over the past couple of years, I feel as though I am finding my way a bit better. 

This year I had the pleasure of joining the Academic Affairs Committee, which is more in my area of expertise.

Since COVID-19 changed how the whole university had to work, I am hoping to have another year on the committee to get deeper into non-pandemic-related issues. Of course, it may take another year for us to really emerge from this crisis, but I tend to be an optimist. With the right leadership, the right focus, initiative and resources, it’s entirely possible that higher education can emerge better and stronger.

The first meeting of 2021 is coming up on February 12th, where we will elect new officers and make committee assignments for the year. We’ll be seeing new Regent faces such as, Dr. Jack Stark, and familiar ones such as Tim Clare. Personally, I think the rotations both within the Board and with elections gives us the opportunity to look with fresh eyes at the things that need to get done.

As though it’s the first day of school, I find myself excited about all the possibilities.

For example, I’m really looking forward to sharing more about a number of new programs and degrees in the coming weeks. One such degree in process is a new Master’s Degree in supply chains, which I think is fascinating and highly useful in our modern world. The issues around getting syringes, vaccines, PPE, ventilators, and oxygen in the right numbers to the places they are needed is a perfect, practical example.

And in addition to new programs and degrees, there’s an institute you are definitely going to want to hear more about. Have I piqued your curiosity yet?

So while I wait with bated breath to discover which committees I’ll be assigned to this year, perhaps you can reflect on what has helped you – and can help us – to continue navigating toward a better future.

 

 

 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.