Diversity and Inclusion office reorganized in October

Pitt announced Wednesday that it reorganized the offices of Diversity and Inclusion and Disability Resources and Services at the beginning of October.

ODI — previously composed of the Office of Institutional Equity, the Title IX Office and the digital accessibility initiative — will now be separated into two divisions, Inclusion and Access, and Civil Rights and Title IX.

Pitt is currently conducting a nationwide search for someone to fill the new position of associate vice chancellor for inclusion. The person selected for the job will head the inclusion and access division, which includes the offices of institutional equity and multicultural and diversity programming, as well as DRS. Though no longer part of Pitt’s Division of Student Affairs, DRS will still maintain its current offices on the first floor of the William Pitt Union.

The civil rights and Title IX division will be headed by Pitt’s current Title IX coordinator, Katie Pope, who will take on an additional title as associate vice chancellor for civil rights and Title IX. The division will address other types of discrimination besides sexual misconduct, and as a result the University will hire a civil rights investigator to expand these efforts.

Pam Connelly, Pitt’s vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion, said that the move will help ODI to have a bigger impact across campus.

“We thought deliberately and strategically on how to design the ODI functions to expand what has been successful and, at the same time, create a platform for greater inclusion, education and prevention efforts,” Connelly said. “We believe that this new structure will provide that opportunity.”