Essay: Preventing Sexual Harassment and Misconduct in Higher Education: How Lawyers Should Assist Universities in Fortifying Ethical Infrastructure

By Susan S. Fortney

Available here.

Excerpt: “In order to change the culture and climate in higher education and to improve policies and procedures, university administrators should use the analytical framework of ethical infrastructure to evaluate the organization’s formal and informal systems, as well as the climate that supports those systems. Using such a framework, universities and colleges can proactively and systematically deal with sexual harassment and misconduct. Rather than focusing on reactive measures designed to meet the minimum legal requirements, the ethical infrastructure framework empowers institutions to assess and improve formal and informal systems, while addressing culture and climate concerns related to sexual harassment and misconduct.”