Dear UMBC Community,
As we welcome students and faculty back to classes and look ahead to the remainder of the semester, I hope that everyone found some time to rest and recharge over Spring Break. I know that for many in our community, last week brought difficult news, as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released the findings of its three-year Title IX investigation into the university.
If you have not yet read the letter or watched the video I shared with the UMBC community when the DOJ made its findings public last Monday, I ask you to do so. Please read the findings if you are able to—understanding that they are deeply disturbing. The DOJ found yearslong failures in the university’s response to allegations of sexual misconduct and sex discrimination in the Department of Athletics during the period 2015-2020.
As our community reckons with what happened in the past, we resolve to move forward in addressing the problems, rebuilding trust, and strengthening this community. Please know that in all of our work, the safety and well-being of our community members are my highest priority, and always will be.
We are committed to creating and sustaining a culture that is safe and responsive to the needs of our community. This includes providing support services and resources to those who may have experienced trauma, or for whom these investigative findings are difficult to process. We have identified a host of resources to help support you through this difficult time, and we encourage anyone in our community—students, faculty, and staff—to reach out for support if needed. I also urge anyone at UMBC who experiences sexual misconduct, sex-based discrimination, or harassment to report it (online or by emailing ecr@umbc.com or calling 410-455-1717) so that we may investigate it and take appropriate action.
We will share more details of our response to the DOJ’s findings in the coming days, including when our agreement with the DOJ is released publicly. That agreement will specify critical changes in the way the university responds to reports of sexual misconduct and sex discrimination. Our work is already well underway, and we have made important progress since I arrived in 2022: strengthening our Title IX structures, processes, and policies; appointing a new Vice President of Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer; creating the Office of Equity and Civil Rights (ECR), which oversees all Title IX compliance; and building an expert team of dedicated staff in that office. This week, in fact, ECR is welcoming two new full-time staff members to support the critical work of Title IX investigation and response.
We are strong, and I believe we will come out of this even stronger. I remain deeply inspired by the privilege of being in service to all of you and this extraordinary institution. I know there is so much more to do this semester, and in the months and years ahead, together.
Sincerely,
President Valerie Sheares Ashby
