To: Oregon State University Community Members
From: Edward Feser, Acting President
April 8, 2021
Dear Oregon State University Community Members,
As I wrote to you on March 29, it is imperative at OSU that we strengthen our approaches to preventing all forms of interpersonal violence — including harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking — and that we provide support and care to survivors. I write today with an update on that work.
As the cornerstone of this effort, I have asked Kim Kirkland, executive director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access and OSU’s Title IX Coordinator, and Dan Larson, vice provost for student affairs, to collaborate in leading two reviews. The first will assess our institutional practices for ensuring the OSU president’s consistent awareness and appropriate oversight of Title IX efforts, policies, procedures, and related programs. The second is an evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of OSU’s comprehensive interpersonal violence prevention, support, and response program.
These two reviews will be undertaken promptly and will inform the allocation of additional resources. They follow up on a March 17, 2021 directive issued by the OSU Board of Trustees. A new webpage provides additional information and progress updates on this work.
I ask all of us in the OSU community to be mindful of those who have been harmed by violence of any kind and who are experiencing a range of emotions as the university community continues to discuss these topics. I also ask everyone to commit themselves to making Oregon State University a community free of interpersonal violence. Achieving this goal is well past due.
Sincerely,
Edward Feser
Acting President