Hunter's Response to U.S. Department of Education Press Release

From John Rose, Dean of Diversity and Compliance:

Many of you may have seen recent reports concerning the release by the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of a list of 55 colleges and universities under investigation for Title IX sexual violence issues.

Hunter College believes that it has been unfairly included on this list. An investigation commenced 18 months ago when a single student complained to Hunter of sexual harassment and filed a subsequent complaint with OCR. Following Hunter's investigation and report, the student withdrew the OCR complaint 9 months ago. OCR has chosen to keep the file open.

As we have conveyed to OCR and want to reiterate to our campus community, we take these matters very seriously. Hunter has always been committed to maintaining a campus environment free from discrimination, intimidation or violence of any sort. It is a core value of the College and a goal we vigorously pursue by broadly disseminating our policies and rigorously enforcing them. We did so prior to the opening of this matter, and we will continue to do so, in order to ensure that Hunter is a safe place, and provides necessary support and resources for our students.