At the heart of our School’s mission is a steadfast commitment to fostering an academic environment where every individual—regardless of life experience, economic circumstance, or family educational background—is welcomed, supported, and empowered to thrive. Guided by our core values of access to education, social justice, as well as our four foundational pillars, I, alongside senior management, strive to foster non-discrimination, equity, and diversity and inclusion, in the workplace and our community overall and fully support the policies and practices necessary to achieve that goal. CUNY is enriched by the strengths of the people and perspectives in our institution. Accordingly, I continue to be committed to our compliance with the CUNY Policies and Procedures on Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and on Sexual Misconduct.

The Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy (“Non-Discrimination Policy”) states CUNY’s commitment to recruit, employ, retain, promote, and provide benefits to employees without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, partnership status, disability, genetic information, alienage, citizenship, military or veteran status, unemployment status, status as a victim of domestic violence/stalking/sex offenses, or any other legally prohibited basis in accordance with federal, state and city laws.

Further, CUNY does not tolerate acts of hate or bigotry of any kind. This includes discrimination or harassment based on national origin or heritage – including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, or South Asian ancestry – and/or the association with these national origins and ancestries. The University will promptly take all necessary and appropriate actions to address any such discrimination and remedy its effects. We encourage students and employees who believe they have been subjected to such discrimination, or who have information about an incident or situation, to report it to the University.

CUNY takes all reports of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation seriously, including reports pertaining to sexual misconduct.  Recently, the University enhanced the process for reporting these incidents. We encourage individuals who may have experienced or witnessed discrimination, harassment, or retaliation to submit a report through the University’s updated reporting form, which is designed to facilitate prompt review and coordinated follow-up.  We also encourage the campus community to visit the CUNY Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Homepage for more information about the reporting system, CUNY policies on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and available campus and external resources. Here are direct links to important policies and webpages:

CUNY has a commitment to continuing to build on its culture of inclusivity for both students and employees with disabilities. For employees, CUNY has adopted a Strategic Plan to enhance recruitment, advancement, and support of individuals with disabilities. This is consistent with Governor Hochul’s Executive Order 31, promoting New York State as Model Employer. Any CUNY employee requiring one or more accommodations to perform their job duties should contact Human Resources as per our policy on Reasonable Accommodation and Academic Adjustments.

CUNY’s executives and administrators are responsible for maintaining a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and for promoting diversity and inclusion in their units. Jessica Morak is responsible for Equal Employment Opportunity compliance and diversity initiatives. I encourage managers and chairs to contact her to discuss diversity and inclusion strategies that would advance unit goals.

Additional relevant administrators include:

  • David Boxill
    Director of the Office of Human Resources at The Graduate Center

Contact

Jessica Morak
Chief Diversity Officer
jessica.morak84@gc.cuny.edu
212-817-7101