In response to news that that the U.S. Department of Education had launched an investigation into sexual harassment grievance procedures at Yale University, provost Peter Salovey announced the formation of a new University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct. Plans for the new committee have been in the works since last summer, according to Salovey. Yale took this action after a group of 16 Yale students claimed in a formal complaint to the Department of Education that members of a Yale fraternity marched through campus chanting derogatory slogans targeting women. The women alleged that Yale’s response was inadequate and, as a result, a sexually hostile environment exists on campus.
The new university-wide committee will consolidate sexual harassment grievance procedures across Yale’s 14 colleges and schools. The committee will be chaired by Michael Della Rocca, the Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Philosophy at Yale.