APPLIES TO: All Employees and Students
ISSUED BY: The President
REVISION DATE: 11/06
Affirmative Action. The Policy of the University of Southern Maine
is to provide equal opportunity in its role as an employer and
educational institution. In complying with the letter and spirit
of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the
University of Southern Maine shall not discriminate on the basis
of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, or veterans status in any area of the University.
In addition, in order to address the effects of past discrimination
and to meet its affirmative action obligations under federal and state
law, USM will take affirmative action to recruit and hire qualified
women and minorities in selected areas, in accordance with the goals
outlined in this Plan. The University of Southern Maine also
regards freedom from sexual harassment as an individual employee
and student right, which will be safeguarded as a matter of
policy.
Affirmative action is quality management. Through its commitment
to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, the
University will benefit by developing and utilizing all available
human resources. All employment practices of the University of
Southern Maine, including recruiting, hiring, training,
promoting, and retaining persons in all jobs, will comply with
this policy. Affirmative action will be taken to recruit women,
minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans for all job
openings. Personnel actions such as compensation, benefits,
transfers, layoffs, return from layoff, University-sponsored
training, educational programs, leaves, tuition assistance, and
social and recreational programs will be administered without
regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including
transgender status or gender expression, national origin, citizenship
status, age, physical or mental disability, or veterans status.
Applicants and employees who are members of protected groups
will be invited to identify themselves so that the Executive Director,
of the Office of Campus Diversity and Equity at USM can monitor
personnel actions to ensure that it is able to meet its EO/AA
responsibilities. In the selected areas designated for
affirmative action by this plan, screening committees will
take all necessary steps to create as large and diverse a
pool of applicants as possible, and when choosing among
applicants with comparable qualifications, will give special
consideration to highly qualified women and minority
candidates.
All departments and all personnel are responsible for
implementing and following this policy within the scope of
their individual job responsibilities. The achievement of
applicable USM equal opportunity goals is the professional
responsibility of each administrator and supervisor.
In order to ensure equal employment opportunity, the Executive
Director, of the Office Campus Diversity and Equity,
who is responsible to the President, has been assigned the
responsibility of developing, implementing, coordinating,
and monitoring USM's Affirmative Action Program. The
Executive Director, of the Office of Campus Diversity and Equity
is responsible for monitoring compliance with
equal opportunity and affirmative action laws and
regulations, and for keeping the President informed of
personnel actions and progress in this area. All employees
have access to informal and to formal complaint procedures
for review of personnel actions which they believe to be
discriminatory. Employees are encouraged to contact the
Executive Director,of the Office of Campus Diversity and Equity
for information about these procedures. Copies
of the procedures are also available at each USM Library
and the University of Maine Law Library. The Executive
Director, of the Office of Campus Diversity and Equity is
Kathleen Roberts, at 732 Law Building on the Portland
campus. She can also be contacted by telephone at 780-5094
or TTY 780-5646.
This Affirmative Action Plan outlines goals and methods of
their attainment for the University of Southern Maine. The
text of this Plan and information about applicable equal
opportunity goals will be distributed to all designated
supervisors. Representatives of the bargaining units also
will receive the text of the Plan. This policy statement
will be distributed to all employees. The availability of
the Plan will be announced internally and externally. A
copy of the Plan has been placed in each USM Library. The
Plan also will be provided to employees and other
interested persons upon request for a reasonable copying
fee. Requests should be directed to the Executive
Director, of the Office of Campus Diversity and Equity.
As president of the University of Southern Maine, I firmly
support this policy. It is my responsibility to ensure
that equal opportunity and affirmative action are realities.
This Plan will assist the University in meeting its
responsibilities.
Richard L. Pattenaude, President
April 1995