Boston University announced it will create a working group to develop strategies that advance the school’s efforts to create a campus free of gender-based harassment. University Provost and Chief Academic Officer Jean Morrison sent out the announcement in a university-wide email Tuesday.
The group will be made up of faculty and university leaders from the Charles River and Medical Campuses, Morrison wrote in the email. They will be tasked with developing a set of recommended steps to cultivate a culture and climate on campus that rejects gender-based harassment.
“As one of the first universities in the United States to open all its divisions to female students, … BU has a historic commitment to providing a welcoming and respectful setting for students, faculty, and staff of all genders,” Morrison wrote. “It is a commitment etched into our narrative and an essential part of BU’s continuing effort to attract the very best faculty and students to our campuses.”
In her email, Morrison cited a recent National Academies report that detailed widespread gender harassment in different professional and educational environments.
“According to the National Academies,” Morrison wrote, “academic environments have the second-highest rate of sexual harassment (58%) when compared to the military (69%), the private sector, and the government.”
Morrison’s email listed 11 members of the working group and two ex officio members. The working group is expected to deliver its recommendations by Sep. 30, according to Morrison.
