Board of Regents Policy Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement

The Board of Regents of Higher Education (“Board of Regents”) and Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (“CSCU”) are committed to leading, by example, in the areas of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. The Board of Regents and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities affirmatively seek to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons of diverse backgrounds. Additionally, the Board of Regents commits to promote representative racial and ethnic diversity among its students, faculty, administrators, and staff at public institutions of higher education. Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action are essential to achieving public higher education’s goals of academic excellence and quality.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Board of Regents is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. To ensure that employees and job applicants are not subjected to unlawful discrimination, it is the Board of Regent’s policy statement to comply with all State and Federal laws and regulations that prohibit employment discrimination and mandate specific actions for the purpose of eliminating present and past discrimination. Equal employment opportunity is the purpose and goal of affirmative action.

In accordance with this Policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, the Board of Regents deems equal employment opportunity to be the employment of individuals without consideration of actual or perceived age, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, genetic information and/or family medical history, intellectual disability, learning disability, parental, family or marital status, past or present history of mental disability, physical disability, pregnancy or related conditions, race or national origin, religion or creed, sex, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, arrest and/or criminal conviction status, lawful source of income, citizenship or immigration status, status as a victim of domestic violence, workplace hazards to reproductive systems, or any other protected characteristic, including protections for those opposing discrimination or participating in any grievance process within the institution, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and/or the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (“CHRO”), or other factors that cannot lawfully be the basis for employment actions, unless there is a bona fide occupational qualification under applicable local, state, or federal law.

Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action is a positive program of purposeful activity undertaken with conviction and effort to overcome present effects and past practices, policies, and barriers to equal employment opportunity. Affirmative action plans and programs are designed to achieve the full and fair participation of all protected class members found to be underutilized in the workforce or adversely affected by past policies and practice.

The Board of Regent’s commitment to affirmative action requires that the System Office and each College and University within the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System make good faith efforts that may be necessary in all aspects of personnel administration to ensure that the recruitment and hiring of underrepresented individuals reflect their availability in the job market; that the causes of underutilization are identified and eliminated; that alternative approaches are explored when personnel practices have a negative impact on protected classes; and, that the terms and conditions, and privileges of employment, including upward and lateral mobility, are equitably administered.

The Board recognizes the employment difficulties experienced by individuals with disabilities and by many older people. Therefore, the Board will take necessary steps to identify and overcome areas of underutilization of such people in the workforce and to achieve their full participation in all System programs, processes, and services.

The Board of Regents is committed to ensuring that all Connecticut State Colleges and Universities services and programs are provided in a fair and impartial manner and thus has established affirmative action and equal employment opportunity as immediate and necessary system-wide objectives.

Each College and University and the System Office prepares an annual Affirmative Action Plan. The Affirmative Action Plans must comply with Connecticut law and regulations, provide a detailed, results-oriented set of procedures that blueprints a strategy to combat discrimination and implement equal employment opportunity and affirmative action goals. The objective of the Affirmative Action Plans is to set quantitative and non-quantitative goals, that promote affirmative action and/or eliminate any policy or employment practice that adversely affects protected class members.

Complete versions of the Affirmative Action Plans for each College and University within the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System, and the Affirmative Action Plan for the System Office can be found online at: https://www.ct.edu/compliance/nondiscrimination/eeo.

The Board of Regent’s policies and procedures against discrimination and harassment are included in the Affirmative Action Plans along with complaint procedures. Faculty, employees, students and other individuals participating in or attempting to participate in the CSCU’s education programs or activities may file complaints of discrimination, harassment, retaliation or alleged violations of this Policy may do so by contacting:

Alphonso Atkins, J.D.
Executive Director of Civil Rights Compliance
Email: alphonso.atkins@ct.edu
Phone: (860) 723-0635
Address: 61 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105

Faculty, employees, students and others shall not be subjected to harassment, intimidation or any type of retaliation because they have (1) filed a complaint; (2) assisted or participated in an investigation, compliance review, hearing or any other activity related to the administration of any federal, state or local law requiring equal employment opportunity; (3) opposed any act or practice made unlawful by any federal, state or local law requiring equal opportunity; (4) exercised any other legal right protected by federal state or local law requiring equal opportunity.

Accountability

The Board of Regents hereby commits to ensure that Connecticut State Colleges and Universities make every effort to implement effective Affirmative Action Plans within timetables set forth in such Plans. The Board of Regents fully expects the CSCU executive and supervisory staff to treat compliance with Federal and State of Connecticut affirmative action statutes as a top priority and take positive steps to ensure the successful implementation of the policies, procedures and objectives of affirmative action and equal opportunity throughout Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, including the System Office.

In issuing this Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement, the Board of Regents reiterates the need for affirmative action and equal opportunity and attests to the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities’ determination to identify strengths and weaknesses throughout our employment system, resolve problems when they appear, recruit employees vigorously and affirmatively, and retain current employees while also helping them prepare for advancement.