Johns Hopkins University's Office of Institutional Equity has released its 2023 annual report as part of its ongoing efforts to promote transparency in its work.
Each year, the report offers insight into OIE's processes and provides updated data about the types of complaints the office received, the various resolutions implemented, as well as the timeframes for investigations and other forms of complaint resolution.
OIE plays a key role in the university's efforts to foster an environment that is inclusive and free from discrimination and harassment. This includes overseeing compliance with anti-discrimination and harassment policies and procedures; assessing and investigating discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct claims; and serving as a central resource for employees with disabilities or constituents who require religious accommodations.
The 2023 report is now available on the OIE website, as are reports from previous years. OIE's 2024 annual report is expected to be published in the spring.
"We remain committed to proactively fostering an environment that is safe, inclusive, respectful, and welcoming to all, while maintaining JHU's commitment to the protection of the right to academic freedom," wrote Shanon Shumpert, vice provost for institutional equity, in an introduction for the report. "The OIE team remains stable and well prepared to address the challenges that confront our campus."
In addition to conducting investigations and resolving complaints, OIE also created and staffed a new role, the Equal Opportunity Process Specialist, to conduct heightened pre-employment screening for applicants to new executive-level positions and faculty roles that include an offer of tenure. This position resulted from JHU joining with partner institutions in the Association of American Universities (AAU) to adopt a set of principles designed to avoid hiring practices that can lead to "passing the harasser" from institution to institution.
Details in OIE's 2023 report include:
- OIE received 992 complaints in 2023: 379 alleged sexual misconduct, 349 alleged protected-class discrimination or harassment, and 132 alleged both sexual misconduct and protected-class discrimination/harassment. The remaining 132 did not allege discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct and were routed to other offices.
- The total number of 2023 complaints represents a 28% increase compared to 2022 (774 reports), and the first overall increase in annual reports since 2019 (924 reports), the last full calendar year that was unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Complaints have increased gradually in recent years as more students and employees returned to campuses and workplaces.
- OIE received 406 requests for disability-related workplace accommodations in 2023—a 25% increase from 2022. Accommodation requests for remote or hybrid work accounted for 38% of all requests for accommodation in 2023, down from 42% in 2022.
- Employee requests for leave or reduced hours due to disability accounted for 30% of requests for accommodations, up from 23% in 2022. The increase could be the result of additional training for supervisors who now understand that they should consult with OIE regarding requests for accommodation.
- OIE also received 1,160 religious accommodation requests in 2023, a roughly 17% increase from 2022. Of those requests, 94% were requests for exceptions to vaccine requirements, similar to the proportion in 2022 (93%).
- Slightly less than half of the reports received in 2023 involved students. Of these, 276 (60%) included allegations of sexual misconduct, an increase of 49 reports compared to 2022. Another 152 reports involving student complainants (33%) raised allegations of protected-class discrimination or harassment, representing 52 more reports than in 2022.
Shumpert noted that JHU experienced a notable increase in reports of religion-based harassment and discrimination in 2023, with half of the reports (17 out of 34) arising immediately after Oct. 7, coinciding with the beginning of the conflict in Israel/Gaza.
"Notwithstanding the increase in reporting to our office, you will see that our time to complete investigations and assessments remained relatively stable," Shumpert wrote. "As always, we continue to look for process improvement opportunities to adjust our workflow in the interest of efficiency while maintaining a high-quality work product."
Members of the JHU community are encouraged to read the report for a more detailed view of the office's work. The document also includes resources available to JHU affiliates, as does the OIE website. Anyone with questions about the annual report can email the office at oie@jhu.edu.
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