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Dear members of the Mount Holyoke community,

I’m excited to share an update regarding recent changes within the Division of Student Life that will enhance our commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for all members of the Íøºì±¬ÁÏ community. These changes involve the creation of a new branch within the Division of Student Life: Civil Rights & Community Standards.

In May, we officially welcomed Lily Schaefer-Calderon as our new director of civil rights. In this vital role, Lily is responsible for supporting our diverse and vibrant community of students and works closely with the community standards director in developing, reviewing and implementing the College’s grievance processes. The director of civil rights provides training and conflict management services for and with students and student organizations. This position plays a critical role in managing the compliance grievance processes and nondiscrimination management of complaints involving student(s) to student(s) interactions and student organizations. The director of civil rights is our student-facing Title VI, Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator.

Additionally, we're announcing an evolution in the role of our director of community standards. Nashalie Vazquez is transitioning from the role of director of community standards & housing operations to focus her efforts as our full-time community standards director. In this focused role, Nashalie will lead the Community Standards area and oversee the administration of the student conduct process with a strong emphasis on using restorative justice practices and student development. The director of community standards serves as the Honor Code Council Advisor and will provide training and education to students, student organizations, and other campus constituents on the behavioral expectations, conflict management, college policies, and applicable laws such as the Stop Campus Hazing Act.

These two new positions will report to me. I also want to highlight that Assistant Vice President for Compliance Shannon Lynch, who reports to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources Jake Toomey, will work closely with the director of civil rights to ensure seamless collaboration for the overall campus community and the College's compliance. The assistant vice president for compliance remains our institutional Title VI, Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator.

Sincerely,

Marcella Runell
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students