»¨¼¾´«Ã½ strives to be an inclusive environment that is free from bias incidents. Through its Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT), the University's mission is to help students and employees who experience bias in our community by offering support and resources.

BIRT works to:

• Prevent bias incidents from occurring by educating our community on this plan - including relevant terms, appropriate use of language, resources, and how to report;

• Encourage students and employees to report bias incidents of all types and magnitudes and assist them in making a BIRT report;

• Provide immediate and ongoing support to students and employees involved in a bias incident;

• Support identity groups and communities that may be impacted by a bias incident;

• Refer concerns related to campus climate following a bias incident to necessary accountability and/or response structures; and 

• Inform the community, via the BIRT website, of the nature of bias incidents reported.

Bias Incident Response Team Members (BIRT)

Dionne Jackson, Ed.D.
Vice President for Institutional Equity & Title IX Coordinator
Co-Coordinator of Bias Response Team

John Mark Day, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Co-Coordinator of Bias Response Team

Bridget L. Gourley, Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dean of the Faculty, and Percy L. Julian Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Charlene Shrewsbury
Chief of »¨¼¾´«Ã½ Police Department

Angie Nally
Director of Human Resources

Student Affairs After Hour Bias Incident Support

Student Affairs Bias On Call Representative

Jeannette Johnson-Licon (JJL)
Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Assistant Director of Student Accessibility Services and Coordinator of LGBTQ+ Services