UW will be appointing an "Ethical Behaviour/Human Rights Coordinator" this fall to work on issues that range from sexual harassment to race relations. The appointment was approved by the provost in late July, on the advice of a campus-wide group that had been at work since December on what it calls "a warmer climate" at the university. The informal group was headed by Lois Claxton, secretary of the university, and Peter Hopkins, associate provost (student affairs). Its members included representatives of student and staff associations, people involved in the handling of grievances and harassment complaints, chairs of existing committees on ethics and human rights matters, and others. "While a broad range of resources exists on campus to address issues of ethical behaviour," says the group's report, "what is needed is a focal point -- one identifiable and highly visible person/office available to provide guidance and assistance." It recommended, and the provost approved, that the "focal point" should be a person reporting to the secretary of the university, but with "direct access" to the provost. Hiring a person for that job will start this month, Claxton told the Gazette last week. _______ The job description isn't finished yet, she said, but according to the mid-summer report, the coordinator's duties will include these: * Develop an educational program "specifically targeting ethical behaviour, with particular focus on sexual harassment and race relations". * Review UW's policies on such subjects, and recommend any changes that are needed. * "Serve as one of the many multiple entry points to initiate dispute resolution." * "Serve as a primary resource to members of the University community on matters involving ethical/human rights issues." * "Investigate complaints where appropriate." * "Develop and maintain liaison with internal and external human rights organizations." The new coordinator will work with an advisory PAGE 2 committee that includes many of the same people who were on the task force this summer -- the chairs of various committees whose duties touch on human rights and ethics, student and staff representatives, and a couple of senior administrators, among others. "The role of the Committee, in its early stages, will be to oversee the development of an Ethical Behaviour/Human Rights plan," the report says. During the first two years, while the plan is being worked out, there won't be major changes to any of the structures UW already has for dealing with sexual harassment and other problems. The task force recommended a "temporary . . . co-existence" for the new advisory committee and three existing committees: the sexual harassment advisory board (SHAB), the provost's advisory committee on equal rights (PACER), and the ethics committee. "The concerns of these Committees, including race relations, may best be addressed by their beocming sub- committees of the Ethical Behaviour/Human Rights Advisory Committee," the task force suggested, but it stopped short of saying that such a change should be made now. There is "some overlap", it conceded, but keeping several committees in operation for the time being makes it more likely that all the important issues will get someone's attention, and that the "institutional expertise" that already exists won't get lost. There is a "critical need . . . for pro-active and educational measures" on human rights and ethics issues at UW, the task force told the provost. "This need is manifested by uncertainty as to: what actually constitutes acceptable/unacceptable ethical behaviour; whom to turn to for advice/assistance; how to handle such matters from a supervisor's perspective; what resources are available." It also made some comments about the ways individual problems and complaints are handled: "A greater emphasis needs to be placed on conflict- resolution at the informal stages. This could be facilitated both by raising individuals' awareness of the instruments available to assist in effecting an informal resolution and by the development of a mediation team. . . . "Undertaking action, even at the informal stages, can be exceedingly stressful for both complainant and respondent, but particularly for the complainant where a power differential exists between the two parties. Both the Faculty and Staff Associations assign facilitators, upon request, to complainants and respondents to help alleviate PAGE 3 the stress and reduce the effect of the power differential. What is still necessary is the development and training of a pool of student facilitators." To help fill that gap, the task force recommended that there be student voices on all "human rights and related committees" and that something be done to make room for "mediators and student peer facilitators" in the dispute resolution process. Working on policy revisions to make that possible, and finding and training students (and others) to work in mediation and as facilitators, will be among the new coordinator's tasks during the next two years. The task force suggested that UW's process for dealing with individual problems should be "fair, simple, accessible, quick and effective", and probably should be based on the existing grievance procedure, by which a case is heard by a three-person panel if informal ways of settling the issue do not work. Processes should be "based on individual empowerment concepts (i.e., complainant driven)", says the task force, "unless circumstances obligate the University to act."